Mahathir asked me to dissolve UMNO, Ahmad Zahid tells court

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told the High Court here today that former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had asked him to dissolve UMNO because the latter claimed the party had no future and could not be trusted.

Ahmad Zahid, 69, said at a meeting held in June 2018 after the 14th general election (GE14), Dr Mahathir also asked him to tell all UMNO members to join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) for the sake of the Malays.

"In that four-eyed meeting, Tun Mahathir said UMNO had no future, UMNO was dead, UMNO was rejected by the Malays and BN (Barisan Nasional) voters were buried because its 13 component parties were reduced to only four.

"He asked me to jump from UMNO to PPBM. Tun Mahathir said UMNO could not be trusted, is a robber, corrupt, abhorrent and dirty. He asked for UMNO to be dissolved and asked me to tell UMNO members to join PBM," he added.

Ahmad Zahid said this during examination-in-chief by his lawyer Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Zainal when making his defence on 47 charges, namely 12 charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT), eight charges of corruption, and 27 charges of money laundering involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi (YAB).

Ahmad Zahid said he rejected Dr Mahathir's request and told him that as the UMNO president he would be cursed by the party's 3.8 million members if he dissolved the party and joined PPBM.

The former deputy prime minister said the meeting was arranged by PPBM's Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan and former Gopeng Wanita UMNO chief Datuk Hamidah Osman.

"Datuk Khairuddin and Hamidah told me that Tun Mahathir wanted to meet me. At that time, I was not open to meeting him although he had become the prime minister," he said.

Asked by Ahmad Zaidi what happened after meeting Dr Mahathir, Ahmad Zahid said: "I was threatened that if I did not defect to PPBM and dissolve UMNO, something would happen to me."

Ahmad Zahid said at a meeting which Dr Mahathir held with UMNO's top five leaders in September 2018, the same thing was said to them.

Ahmad Zaidi: Can Datuk Seri name the five leaders?

Ahmad Zahid: I, UMNO deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and the three UMNO vice-presidents, namely Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

Ahmad Zahid said that following that meeting, the five of them decided to remain in UMNO as opposition politicians.

Ahmad Zahid claimed that Dr Mahathir, the Langkawi Member of Parliament, held a grudge against him and was jealous of him after he was elected as the UMNO Youth chief in 1996.

Ahmad Zahid also said he was released from Internal Security Act (ISA) detention after he followed the Special Branch director's orders and wrote two letters of resignation as UMNO Youth chief to Dr Mahathir, who was then UMNO president.

The trial before Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah continues tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA