No need for my blessing if anyone wants to be Prime Minister - Tun Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today denied that a politician needed his blessing to lead the government administration in the country.

In an ‘Exclusive With Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’ interview on Astro AWANI tonight, the Langkawi MP said that the appointment of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the eighth Prime Minister proved that it was beyond his control, as claimed by some parties.

He added that his support for an individual will not carry weight if the people themselves do not agree and reject the government.

"(The allegation) is not true. The current prime minister (Muhyiddin) is not my choice. Many people want to be the prime minister. Many people are interested in becoming the prime minister. But they are not able to.

"Even if I support those who are not qualified, he will not be the prime minister either," he said briefly.

Dr Mahathir made history when he succeeded in leading Pakatan Harapan to overthrow the Barisan Nasional government for 22 years in the 2018 General Election, and was subsequently appointed as the seventh prime minister.

However, the political crisis in February this year caused him to resign after 22 months leading the Pakatan Harapan government, and was succeeded by Muhyiddin, who later called the current Federal Government the Perikatan Nasional government.

Dr Mahathir was also the longest-serving Prime Minister from Barisan Nasional, for 22 years (‪1981 - 2003‬), before resigning on the grounds of wanting to give way to the next generation of leaders.

However, he had openly criticised his successor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (‪2003 - 2009‬) and the next Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (‪2009 - 2018‬).