Dr M: If I wanted to betray the people, I would have been PM via Perikatan

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says if he had wanted to betray the people, he would have done so by becoming the prime minister when his name was suggested by Perikatan Nasional.

“I remain loyal to my comrades who have fought with me even before the 14th General Election.

“If I wanted to betray the people's mandate, I would have done so when I was nominated as Perikatan Nasional's prime minister candidate.

“I rejected it. Through thick and thin, we are together, ” he said in his Twitter on Wednesday (May 20).

The former premier tweeted this in response to an audio recording which is alleged to be of him that has been making it rounds on social media, which he described as “snipped”.

“There are those who are malicious spreading an audio recording of me that is clearly edited (disunting).

“I challenge them to release the full recording of the meeting, ” he said.

The recording, which surfaced on Tuesday (May 19), has been disputed by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia leaders aligned to Dr Mahathir.

In the audio snippet said to be from a Bersatu supreme council meeting on Feb 23, a voice which sounds like Dr Mahathir's says that the party will leave Pakatan Harapan.

Other audio recordings have been released over the past two weeks, one alleging that party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had gone against Dr Mahathir's wishes by pulling the party out of Pakatan.

Muhyiddin was announced as the Prime Minister after aligning himself with Umno, PAS and several PKR defectors, including the party's former deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.

This was after Dr Mahathir’s resignation as prime minister, which triggered a political impasse that eventually led to the downfall of the Pakatan Harapan government.