Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad lamented that he does not know the Umno of today, which prevents the party deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin from delivering a winding-up speech.

Mahathir questioned whether Muhyiddin does not want to speak or he is not allowed to speak.

According to party tradition, he said Muhyiddin has every right to speak.

The former Umno president for 22 years said during an election year he did not stop Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah from going around the country to criticise him, and this includes Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"Here you have a party president (Najib Abdul Razak), not in an election (year), prohibiting someone from delivering his speech. This is not the Umno I know," he told reporters.

"They are going against party tradition. What are you (Najib) worried about as this is not an election year? Here you do not allow contest and now you do not allow anyone to say anything."

Mahathir was asked to respond to Muhyiddin's statement today that he has been barred from speaking at the party's general assembly during the winding-up session.

This comes after the supreme council decided that the Umno wings would open their respective AGMs, and not have Muhyiddin launch them as was the party's practice in the past.

For six years, Muhyiddin has been allowed to open the Wanita, Youth and Puteri AGM.

Muhyiddin has lamented that it is as if he is a stump “not being able to do anything”.

Asked on the actions taken against several leaders by the party disciplinary board today, Mahathir said this is something he could not understand as they were merely criticising the president and not the party.

“It's very funny: people say something against the president and not against Umno and they are being called up. The woman from Perak (Hamidah Osman) was expelled as was the woman from Langkawi (Anina Saadudin).

“They have not called me up yet. I do not know whether they will expel me,” he said.

'I will speak my way'

On Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin's statement that there are some (Umno members) who are not listening to Mahathir, the elder statesman said he would continue to speak up on any issues including wrongdoings.

“It is their right... they have the right not to listen. But I will continue to speak out.

“Until my mouth is partially shut, I will speak my way...,” he said.

Earlier, when witnessing his wife Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali launch a book 'Malaysia's Women Chancellors, Pro-Chancellors and Vice-chancellors', Mahathir hopes that more men would continue to follow women to enter universities.

“This follows concern that the intake of universities had seen 80 percent women and only 20 percent men. It seems that men are only interested in being mat rempit and not follow their women counterparts to hear lectures.

“I hope this will change. In Malaysia, you could see we give equal opportunities to women to receive education and they have excelled, some better than men.

“We are among the Muslim countries which have given women their rights to education,” he said, adding that is why women are allowed to enter the workforce.

Mahathir said while men can do some things that women cannot do and women can do some things that men cannot, this difference should always be respected.

For example, he said men cannot have babies or make better cook, while women cannot do some physical activities that men can.

“We should respect each other as I have with my wife,” he said.