Don’t blame me for resigning as PM, that was democracy at work, says Dr M

PETALING JAYA: The blame should not solely be placed on me for resigning as prime minister in 2020, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pic).

The former prime minister and former Pejuang chairman said that he resigned due to a loss of support from Bersatu, which he founded and led at that time.

"I resigned because my party rejected me and usually in a democracy, when rejected by the party, we resign.

"Besides, I was also aware that the Pakatan Harapan government would fall due to detractors from Bersatu and PKR.

"I don't understand why people blame me for resigning as PM – they should blame those who didn't support my stance instead," he told the press at Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana in Shah Alam on Saturday (Feb 18), reported Sinar Harian.

Dr Mahathir added that he asked Bersatu to wait on the decision (to leave Pakatan) and take a wait-and-see approach first.

"Instead, they pounded on the table and told me to leave Pakatan now, and it seemed they were rejecting me," he said.

Dr Mahathir said this when he was asked to respond to the Royal Address by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at the opening of the first meeting of the second session of the 15th Parliament on Monday (Feb 13).

It was reported that in the Royal Address, the King said that should the episode that led to the resignation of the seventh prime minister did not happen, the chain of political turmoil that lasted until the 15th General Election could have been avoided.