Umno Kubang Pasu division chief Mohd Johari Baharum has denied that the party instructed him to prevent ex-mentor Dr Mahathir Mohamad from being elected a delegate to the annual general assembly in November.

"I never told members not to vote for him, it's up to them (as) I told them earlier on - before the nomination - he (Mahathir) already said I stopped (him from contesting)," claimed Johari, when reporters approached him at the Parliament lobby today for comments.

Yesterday, Mahathir alleged that instructions had been issued to delegates not to 'choose' him at Saturday's Kubang Pasu Umno division meeting - the division he headed for more than two decades while he was premier and party president up to 2003.

Johari, who succeeded Mahathir at divisional level and in the parliamentary seat, had been named as the person whom the supreme council had purportedly asked to prevent Mahathir's election as a delegate.

Johari rebutted Mahathir's statement, attributing it to fury.

"He got only 16 nominations from 143 branches, meaning only 16 branches want him to contest and the rest don't want. He is furious that he didn't even get 10 percent (of the total nominations)," argued Johari.

"Now Mahathir wants to be treated as an Umno member; it is common for any Umno member to campaign (in the contest). Everybody is campaigning, so is Mahathir, it is common. What he said in the newspapers today is also a way of campaigning."

The division will send 13 delegates to the assembly. While seven of them will be elected, the rest will attend by virtue of their posts as division chief, deputy chief, vice-chief, Wanita chief, Youth chief and Puteri chief.

Mahathir is one of 17 candidates contesting the divisional election this Saturday.

Attack 'anticipated'

As to why he had been singled out by Mahathir, Johari claimed he had "anticipated this" as he is the division chief.

"He likes me- lah , I served under him for a long time. He has known me since I was very young and I've known him since he was young as well," Johari said.

Johari had served as political secretary under both Mahathir and current premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi ( photo ), who also heads the internal security ministry in which Johari is deputy minister.

Mahathir has been on the warpath against Abdullah, his handpicked successor over the past few months over unanswered questions linked to government decisions and projects.

Johari also denied Mahathir's claim that the party leadership has gone all out to stop him, and that secretary-general Radzi Sheikh Ahmad had visited the division to influence the grassroots.

"Radzi never came to my division, we never invited him, and there was no function that brought him to Kubang Pasu to meet Umno members," he said.

However, he then conceded that Radzi had "passed by Kubang Pasu" on his way to Perlis where his parliamentary constituency is located.