PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s statement that he was merely using DAP in the 14th General Election (GE14) proves his insincerity, says Anthony Loke.
The DAP secretary-general said the decision to work with the former prime minister at the time was also discussed at length with other Pakatan Harapan component parties.
“Those who are familiar with Tun Mahathir know his views and the way he speaks.
“Yes, he was being direct in saying he used us.
“At the time, Pakatan, specifically DAP, cooperating with him was to bring down Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration.
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“He (Mahathir) was straightforward in saying he wasn’t sincere in working with us, but just wanted to use us to achieve his objective of bringing down Najib,” he told reporters after attending the Women’s Safety in Transit and Transport Industry forum here on Tuesday (Nov 14).
Loke said at the time, DAP was sincere in wanting a new administration that could bring reforms.
“We hoped that Dr Mahathir, at his age, could change, not just in wanting to bring down Najib but also (in introducing) reforms.
“Many placed their hopes on him, hoping that he would use this second chance to help (move) the country forward,” he said.
“What happened however, has become history.
“There are many things that he may not admit to, such as not fulfilling his promise to hand over the position to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, blaming it on other things, such as the Sheraton Move.
“Those are his views,” Loke added.
Loke added that cooperating with Dr Mahathir was necessary for DAP and Pakatan at the time, and was also discussed with then-imprisoned Anwar.
“We asked for Anwar’s views and he was initially reluctant, saying he knew who Dr Mahathir was.
"However, he later agreed, seeing the cooperation as a strategy to form a new government.
“The strategy bore fruit when Barisan Nasional was defeated for the first time,” he said.
On Monday (Nov 13), Dr Mahathir said on the Keluar Sekejap podcast that he and DAP used each other to topple Najib.
He said this in reply to a question on apparent inconsistency in his dealings with DAP and PAS, adding" “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.
