Several Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers today rejected any trust in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's pledge that the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota) he intends to pass in Parliament will not be used on politicians.

The MPs said the prime minister was "bankrupt of any credibility" following his backtracking on his promise to abolish the Sedition Act.

"I don't think Najib's words are worth anything," PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli ( left ) said.

"He has no credibility. In fact, he is worse than Dr Mahathir Mohamad. At least Mahathir was managing the country.

"Najib is incompetent in managing the country and at the same time, he is being like Mahathir in clamping down on dissent," Rafizi added.

DAP's Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng said Najib was "bankrupt of any credibility."

Lim added: "The people, not only here, but universally, won't believe him anymore."

Pota to be used for political purposes?

There have been concerns that the new Pota Bill, drafted to replace the repealed Internal Security Act (ISA), will be used for political purposes as it also provides for detention without trial.

Meanwhile, DAP's Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua ( left ) said there was "no reason" to trust Najib's words.

"It was exactly the same promises made before the Peaceful Assembly Act was passed. But people are arrested for holding peaceful assemblies," Pua said.

"They made promises but nothing was delivered," he added.

He said that "everything" that was promised in terms of civil liberties was not upheld by the government.

Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming said those who believed in Najib must look at his initial promise to repeal the Sedition Act, a promise that was not kept.