Umno could not hold its head high under the leadership of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the party was having difficulty defending the draconian laws introduced by him, says Umno minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

He said this when rebutting Mahathir's son and former Kedah menteri besar Mukhriz Mahathir, who claimed the party could not hold its heads high following scandal after scandal.

"Let me tell you this: when his (Mukhriz's) father was the prime minister, we couldn't hold our heads high because, like it or not, we had to defend many draconian laws under his father's (leadership).