KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has denied Lim Guan Eng's claim that he proposed banning Umno when Pakatan Harapan swept into power in 2018.

"I did not propose to ban Umno. I suggest to Zahid (Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) that the Umno he led was not the Umno which defeated the Malayan Union and won independence for the country.

"Najib (Datuk Seri Najib Razak) had turned it into a cash cow stealing billions and making the party corrupt.

"I told Zahid that the Malays no longer supported Umno. That was why it lost the elections for the first time," he said in a Facebook posting today.

Mahathir said he had also never threatened to charge Zahid for stealing government money if the latter failed to dissolve Umno.

However, he said Zahid had tried to show him documents to prove his innocence.

"I told him to tell the court. I had no authority to decide on his case," he said.

Mahathir ended his posting titled Lesson on Governance, by stating that he worked with many people during his 22 years as the fourth prime minister and would like to hear from others about his treatment of them.

Yesterday, former finance minister Lim Guan Eng claimed that Mahathir proposed banning Umno as a political party.

Lim said, however, he was opposed to the idea which surprised Mahathir.

The DAP chairman claimed he and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim managed to persuade Mahathir to drop the idea.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/politics/2024/06/1068742/dr-m-i-want-hear-feedback-my-behaviour-towards-others