'Dr M asked Zahid to dissolve Umno, never wanted to ban it'

Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s office has denied Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s allegation that the former premier wanted to ban the party which he led for more than two decades.

“This is completely untrue,” it said in a statement this afternoon.

“If he (Mahathir) harboured any intention to ban Umno, as prime minister, he could have ordered the home minister to do it with immediate effect.

“But Umno existed for the two years that he was prime minister,” it said in reference to Mahathir’s second tenure in office from 2018 to 2020 after Pakatan Harapan dislodged Umno and BN in the 14th general election.

According to Mahathir’s office, the nonagenarian had asked Zahid (above, right) to dissolve Umno on the grounds that it had “lost in the 14th general election, no longer represented the Malays, its leaders were implicated in corruption cases and no longer struggled for the religion”.

The office said the decision was left to Zahid and the Umno leadership should they realise that the party had “deviated from its struggle and was no longer fit to use the name Umno.”

Mahathir’s office also noted that Zahid was later charged with 47 counts of corruption.

Last September, he was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) over the charges of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering in relation to Yayasan Akalbudi funds.

“The fact that Umno is still around is proof that it was never banned,” said Mahathir’s office.

Earlier this month, Mahathir, 99, refuted Zahid’s claims of “saving Umno” which was the reason he stepped down as prime minister in 2020.

The former premier said he stepped down because his party, Bersatu, had lost confidence in his leadership when they rejected his advice.

“Usually, when followers no longer have faith in a leader, the honourable thing to do is to step down. That is what I did,” he added.

Dr M ‘rejected hero’

Yesterday, Umno supreme council leader Nur Jazlan Mohamed praised Zahid for standing up to Mahathir, whom he described as a “rejected hero”.

“People must understand that it takes extraordinary courage to confront Mahathir as (he) is vindictive.

“Mahathir has always been like that. Everyone must obey him… if not… you’ll get thrown out,” he said.

Zahid is Umno’s saviour, Nur Jazlan tells 'rejected hero' Dr M

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