Umno lawmaker Nur Jazlan Mohamad has warned that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak could suffer a similar fate as his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"I see similarities with the Pak Lah (Abdullah) situation where the Umno leadership at the time agreed to give Pak Lah 18 months, but later on he had to step down before 18 months," he told reporters at the sidelines of an Asean forum in Kuala Lumpur today.

Back then, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad wanted Abdullah's head to roll and Najib to take over the reins.

Now, Mahathir is pushing for Najib's ouster claiming that the latter would cause BN's defeat in the next general election due to the slew of allegations against him.

In a blog posting earlier, Nur Jazlan appeared to agree with Mahathir.

However, when quizzed by reporters, the Pulai MP denied he was asking Najib to relinquish his post.

"I never said Najib should resign [...] There is no reason for him to step down while Umno still supports him," he said.

Asked if the party should reconsider their support, Nur Jazlan said it was up to them.

"So far they support him, they want him to stay on," he added.

Press Najib for answers

Meanwhile, Nur Jazlan, who heads the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said Umno should also press Najib to answer the allegations against him.

"The divisions should get an explanation that can satisfy people. The prime minister needs to answer a lot of things, kill all sorts of speculations and innuendos.

"If Najib doesn't answer about his personal issues, and also about 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) and such, then this would affect Umno in the long run," he added.

The Pulai Umno chief said the prime minister's answers during a TV3 interview had failed to quell the allegations against him.

"Today he explains but people don't accept. Some people don't accept, but more and more people are voicing up now.

"So this goes on for three years (until the next general election), he would be busy just deflecting all these questions.

"The test whether he has satisfied the people or not is when he answers and then the allegations stop," he added.

In his blog, Nur Jazlan had suggested that Najib call for a snap election to seek a fresh mandate in order to "cleanse" the negative perception towards him, his family and administration.

Previously, the prime minister held closed-door meetings with Umno division leaders and the party’s wings to explain the issues.

The heads of the respective wings have expressed support for him, but Nur Jazlan, in his blog, noted that Umno is " two-faced " as illustrated in the case of Abdullah.