Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today he contacted PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the night of the 14th general election on May 9 but it was not to “buy over” Pakatan Harapan (PH) elected representatives.
- Anwar had said that a shattered Najib had called him twice on election night to strike a deal
- Najib denies he initially refused to concede defeat, planned to retain power through other means
Anwar, who was serving a jail sentence at the Sungai Buloh Prison, was in a hospital in Cheras that night.
Najib said he had been in contact with Anwar while the latter was in prison.
“I contacted Anwar (on the night of May 9) to ask how he was faring,” he said.
In an interview with Karangkraf editorial advisor Datuk Abd Jalil Ali that was broadcast live on the Sinar HarianFacebook account, Najib was asked whether it was true that he contacted Anwar at the hospital in Cheras on the night of May 9 when the election results were announced.
Previously, Anwar had said that a shattered Najib had called him twice on election night, when Barisan Nasional (BN) lost power, for advice on what to do and to strike a deal.
He said Najib fell silent after he (Anwar) told him he would have to deal with PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Anwar said that he also advised Najib to concede defeat, but claimed he had initially refused to do so.
Meanwhile, to another question, Najib denied there was any move to court PH MPs to hop over to BN and he was planning to retain power through other means.
“No, it is not true. There were a few leaders who came to my house, including Zahid (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi). We did not discuss stealing the victory from PH or buying over PH representatives to join us.
“I don’t know where that piece of news came from. I deny that.
“Also, there are claims that I had held a National Security Council (NSC) meeting on the night of May 9 to declare an emergency. That is also untrue. There was no NSC meeting planned that night,” Najib said.
In a recent interview, Mahathir had claimed that PH encountered “difficulties from within” on the night of May 9.
He accused Umno and PAS leaders of attempting to court Malay-Muslim elected representatives from PH to form a Malay-Muslim majority government, which delayed the announcement of its election victory by almost six hours.