Power struggle led to collapse of PH govt, Zahid reminds Dr M

PETALING JAYA: The power struggle within the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government  led to its downfall in 2020, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

In dismissing a claim by Dr Mahathir Mohamad that the 22-month old administration he led collapsed after Barisan Nasional (BN) seized power, Zahid said the internal strife within PH was no secret.

The former prime minister, Zahid said, was pressured by his allies to keep to a promise to hand over the reins to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim after two years.

Instead, the Langkawi MP decided to step down as prime minister and proposed that a new government should be formed – which was rejected by many as it reeked of “dictatorship and autocracy”.

“Mahathir should in actual fact thank BN for saving the country’s administration from being thrown into chaos because of his and PH’s political manoeuvres,” Zahid said in a Facebook post.

Zahid also rejected Mahathir’s claim that BN had seized power with the help of defectors, pointing out that when the latter was with Bersatu, he was happy to welcome MPs who had defected to his party from Umno.

As for claims that Umno was pushing for a general election as it coveted the prime minister’s post, Zahid said his party had proven otherwise when it backed Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin as the country’s eighth prime minister.

Umno, Zahid said, did this to ensure that the government ran smoothly after PH’s collapse.

“But the individuals who have stated their desire to become the prime minister are the chairman of GTA (Gerakan Tanah Air), the PH chairman and Perikatan Nasional chairman,” he said, referring to Mahathir, Anwar and Muhyiddin respectively.