Najib: There was no attempt to buy over Pakatan MPs on May 9

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has denied there was attempt to buy over the support or entice Malay-Muslim Pakatan Harapan MPs to jump ship to enable Barisan Nasional to form a government on May 9.

The former prime minister said there was no instruction by Umno to buy the support of any Pakatan lawmakers.

“If it came from other parties, I do not know lah. But there was none from me on that night,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Monday said some people within Pakatan were being persuaded to cross over and ally themselves with Umno and PAS.

In an interview with Mekong Review, a regional magazine, Dr Mahathir said there were fears that Pakatan was “not going to respect the position of Islam” as much as the previous Barisan-led administration.

He also said Pakatan had lots of difficulty, including from within, to reject its success.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi declined to comment on the claims by Dr Mahathir.

“Ask him,” said Dr Ahmad Zahid who is also Umno president.

Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said he was unaware that Pakatan encountered “difficulties from within” when it was taking over the government.

The PKR deputy president also claimed ignorance of any attempt by Umno and PAS to woo Pakatan Malay-Muslim MPs to jump ship on the night saying that they had more important matters to discuss following their victory in the election.

“We were too busy at the hotel discussing the future of Pakatan (government),” he said, adding that it was best for the media to get the clarification from Dr Mahathir.

Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin said he was not sure what was said.

“I was with Najib that night before the election result was announced.

“I went to his private residence. There was no such efforts either by Najib or Dr Ahmad Zahid,” said the former Youth and Sports minister.

PAS deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man dismissed Dr Mahathir’s claims as a mere ruse to deflect the issues surrounding the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

“I am not aware of this and it’s the first time I am hearing it. It may have been raised to deflect the issue surrounding ICERD,” he said.