KUALA LUMPUR,Nov 26: Dr Mahathir Mohamad tonight claimed that Umno stalwart Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had informed him of his intention to form a new government.
Mahathir said the Gua Musang MP, better known as Ku Li, had attempted to woo MPs in a bid to topple the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration.
“He had this idea of wanting to change the government,” the former prime minister said in an exclusive interview with Astro Awani.
“He was of the opinion that he could coax individuals linked to the ruling administration to leave the government. But it never happened.”
Mahathir said he was prepared to work with anyone if they secured a strong majority.
Earlier this month, the Langkawi MP denied that he had discussed plans to form a unity government after a picture of him meeting with a few political leaders, including Ku Li, went viral.
Mahathir had said that his meeting with Tengku Razaleigh, who is the chairman of Umno’s advisory council, and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu was a normal meeting among friends.
Mahathir had initially suggested forming a unity government to solve the political crisis when he was interim prime minister last February.
In September, Tengku Razaleigh had sought a guarantee that the no-confidence motion against prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin would be raised at the next Dewan Rakyat meeting.
The motion had been proposed by Mahathir against Muhyiddin, who had taken over after Mahathir’s resignation caused the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
