Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today expressed disappointment in Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who he claimed had been plotting a government without Pakatan Harapan for a long time.
Dr Mahathir, when asked if he felt disappointed in Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali for his actions that contributed to the weeklong political turmoil, sidestepped and instead took a swipe towards Muhyiddin.
“He (Azmin) has his own agenda, but he has chosen to work with Muhyiddin,” he said during a special press conference at Yayasan Al-Bukhary, referring to Azmin.
“But I feel betrayed mostly by Muhyiddin. He was working on this for a long time and now he has succeeded.”
Dr Mahathir also revealed that amid the confusion over the status of his chairmanship in Bersatu, Muhyiddin had taken the liberty to appoint himself as the chairman, which he claimed was an illegal move.
As a result, when asked, Dr Mahathir said he was in no position to sack Muhyiddin from Bersatu as the party was under the latter’s full control.
“He appointed himself as chairman in my absence, which is of course totally illegal.
“It’s not according to the constitution of Bersatu, but to him that is not important.
“He now claims he is the leader of Bersatu, but I am still the chairman of Bersatu,” Dr Mahathir exclaimed.
It is believed that the move to form a “backdoor government” was initiated by Azmin and Muhyiddin, along with Umno and PAS.
This move prompted Mahathir to resign as prime minister although he was later reappointed as interim prime minister.