Though he only let the heart institute earlier this month and is still recovering from an illness, the elderly statesman is pressing on against what he refers to as the ruling Umno party’s “court cluster.”

According to a Facebook group dedicated to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his party, Pejuang, Dr Mahathir says Malays should not vote for the Barisan Nasional.

The Umno Party is leading the BN in the Johor elections, which will be held on March 12.

A letter of demand has also been sent to Mahathir by Umno leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The latter claims Zahid is displeased with Dr Mahathir’s assertions that he wanted corruption probes against him dropped while Mahathir was Prime Minister, leading the Pakatan Harapan coalition in 2018.

The former deputy PM under Najib Razak sent the letter of demand through a lawyer and took to his official Facebook page to refute the former two-time PM.

He went on to state that he was there during the disputed meeting with Mahathir, as were other political party leaders.

He claims the meeting was arranged at Dr Mahathir’s invitation to discuss how the opposition parties would support Mahathir in forming a unity government.

“How could I possibly ask to drop the charges in front of many? I have never once asked Tun M to do so.

“How could I have lobbied to have the charges dropped before Tun Mahathir became the seventh prime minister, as at that time, I was the deputy prime minister and there were no corruption investigations, far less being charged.

“I have instructed my lawyer to issue a letter of demand to Tun M to have him apologise for his lie,” Ahmad Zahid posted.

Make nice with me

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad acknowledged yesterday that Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi paid him a visit before he was sworn in as Prime Minister for the second time.

Dr Mahathir, who was the chairman of Pakatan Harapan at the time, stated that Ahmad Zahid arrived with a few others and attempted to heal fences with him.

“At the time, there was a possibility that I might become the prime minister, that’s why he wanted to ‘make nice’ with me.

“But I knew, Zahid’s problem was that there was a possibility that he could be imprisoned due to the wrong doings and crimes he did,” Dr Mahathir said.