Dr M I Never Threatened Zahid To Dissolve Umno Or Face Graft Charges

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Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has denied that he ever threatened Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that the latter would be prosecuted on corruption charges should he fail to dissolve Umno.
In a statement, Mahathir claimed that he was actually keen to be called as a witness in Zahid’s trial and while he had advised the latter to dissolve Umno, he had never once issued threats on the matter.
“During Zahid’s trial, he alleged that I threatened him with criminal charges unless he dissolved Umno. I did not comment as I thought I should not comment on the trial unless I was called to bear witness. 
“But I was not called. Instead, the attorney-general (AG) decided to offer him a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA), which meant the court was not allowed to decide on his allegation. But actually, the allegation was not completely true,” said Mahathir.
He said that Zahid came to see him after Umno (and BN) lost in the 14th general election in 2018.
“At that time, several Umno members, including Hamzah Zainudin, had resigned from the party and then joined Bersatu. I expected Zahid to do the same but he seemed determined to resuscitate Umno. 
“I told him that Umno could not be revived. I advised him to dissolve Umno. Up to that point, Zahid’s allegation was correct. But I did not threaten to charge him for his misappropriation of funds from Yayasan Akalbudi.  
“I did not simply because I did not know much about his misdeeds. That was something that the then AG (Tommy Thomas) would be looking into,” added Mahathir.
‘Show the judge, not me’
He said that after being charged Zahid came to visit him again.
“He (Zahid) was carrying a thick file. He claimed that he was innocent and the files would prove it.
“I simply told him to show the files to the judge. I told him I had no authority to do anything for him and he withdrew the files. 
“I believe the AG preferred charges against him and he had to answer in court. The AG has the right to charge anyone if he is convinced that there was a case. The PM’s opinion is not required,” added Mahathir, who was prime minister from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020.
“I wish I had been called as a witness to verify whether the allegation made by Zahid was true or not, but I was not called. Still, I need to clarify that at no time did I threaten Zahid,” he concluded.
Last August, when the trial was ongoing, Zahid claimed that criminal charges against him were a form of political persecution and he alleged that he faced “threats” from Mahathir, who demanded that Umno be dissolved.
He told the High Court that Mahathir had also “threatened” him, telling him to make the leap to the latter’s then party Bersatu or risk “consequences”. 
“At that time, I went to meet with Mahathir in my capacity as president of Umno, as a few people had told me that he wanted to meet me. 
“When I met him, he asked me to dissolve the party and jump over to his party or risk the consequences. I believe the criminal charges against me are based on these threats,” said Zahid in court. - Mkini

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