Dr M: Barisan can retain power with two-thirds majority

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has predicted that Barisan Nasional will keep Putrajaya and that regaining a two-thirds majority in Parliament is not an impossible target.

He said Kedah, Selangor and Penang were winnable on condition that Umno did not indulge in the politics of sabotage and members supported the selected candidates.

Dr Mahathir has been driving home the “no sabotage” message at a string of meetings he has had with Umno leaders and groups from all over the country.

He also made it crystal clear that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has his unreserved support, slamming pro-Pakatan Rakyat news portals which keep claiming that he wanted Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to take over.

“That is their propaganda. Have they ever heard me promoting Muhyiddin? During Pak Lah’s time, yes, I did try to promote Muhyiddin. But Muhyiddin told me he is fully behind Najib and would not go against Najib. They are harping on this because they want to make Umno weak.

“I have spoken to Umno all over the country. I told them they have to support Najib to win the election,” he said.

“Najib has done a lot of good, maybe there are things which could be improved but we can tackle that after the general election.”

He was confident that Johor and Negri Sembilan would stay with Barisan despite the Opposition’s ambitions in these two states.

He said that although Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was so powerful that he was known as tokong (deity), there were people who were not happy with him.

Dr Mahathir also said it was time Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat kept his promise to retire.

“He promised to step down when I stepped down. These people never keep their word. They are supposed to be religious people but religious people who don’t keep their word are not very religious,” he added.