I never asked Najib to step down - Dr Mahathir

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he had never asked Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to step down as Prime Minister.

Dr Mahathir stressed that he was only giving himself as an example when he said that he will resign if appointed prime minister again.

"If they make me a PM again I will resign, because my time is up. I am too old," he told reporters after launching the book "#WahaiMelayu" authored by Anas Zubedy, here yesterday.

Dr Mahathir said this in commenting on a report in a news portal on Wednesday which had quoted him as saying that he would resign if he became prime minister today, which some quarters had interpreted as a veiled reference to Najib.

He also advised Umno members attending the ongoing divisions delegates meetings to criticise leaders if they are not doing the right things.

"Leaders need to be criticised sometimes. In Malay we call this "menegur". When somebody does something that you thing is wrong, you should have the right to say that the thing is wrong," he said.

Asked whether he will be attending the Umno general assembly in November, he said he will attend it as an Umno member.

Meanwhile, commenting on calls to abolish the Sedition Act 1948, Dr Mahathir said implementation of the Act judiciously could help resolve problems.

"Abolishing the act is not a solution, but using the act properly is the solution. I don't know, that is up to them, they are the ones who make the charges not me," he said.

Earlier, in his speech, Dr Mahathir said the Malays today lacked trustworthiness and were not good in financial management.

This was why they were seen as an unsuccessful race and furthermore they did not have the feeling of shame when failing to do something well, he said.

"We must learn to be honest, if we are honest we will become good," he said.

Also present was his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali.