Tun Mahathir rejects Minister Mentor proposal: 'I once tried to advise the PM, they refused'

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has rejected a proposal to appoint him as a Minister Mentor or advisor on the grounds that no prime minister would accept his views.

“In my experience when trying to advise the prime minister, they refused and did not heed my advice.

"Just like former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib Razak and now Muhyiddin Yassin," he said in an interview with Sin Chew Daily.

Dr Mahathir said a prime minister wanted to leave his own legacy and not be remembered for the advice he received from an advisor.

“The prime minister wants to show that he is responsible for everything and that all ideas come from him. He wants his own legacy and does not want people to say he got it from Dr Mahathir,” he said.

When interviewed by Channel News Asia, Anwar had said if PH won the next election, he was ready to consider the role of Minister Mentor or advisor as Singapore had previously appointed Lee Kuan Yew.

Anwar said he was more prepared to consider the matter than to accept Dr Mahathir as prime minister again.

PH is in the throes following PKR's decision to nominate Anwar as prime minister while DAP and Amanah were more inclined to support Dr Mahathir.

The reason given by the DAP and Amanah was that Dr Mahathir was able to draw the support of other MPs while Anwar failed to obtain it despite being given ample time.