PETALING JAYA: DAP has dismissed former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s claim that they were “using each other” to defeat Najib Razak, the then Barisan Nasional chairman, in the 14th general election.
Its secretary-general Loke Siew Fook insisted that the party was sincere in collaborating with Mahathir at the time.
“We (DAP) were sincere in collaborating, hoping that Mahathir had changed.
“The goal was not only to bring down Najib’s administration but to also bring reforms,” he said after an event held at Sunway Resort.
During an episode of a podcast hosted by former Umno leaders, Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan, Mahathir claimed that both he and DAP were merely using each other in their shared goal of toppling Najib in the 2018 general election.
Loke however commended Mahathir for being honest about the matter.
“At least he was upfront about his objective and about using us to topple Najib.”
Loke, who is also the transport minister, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim who was then serving a prison sentence was somewhat reluctant to work with Mahathir.
However, he said Anwar was later convinced of a need to collaborate, to combine their influence in shaping a new administration.
“The strategy was effective and worked out well. However, we are disappointed with what happened after that (Sheraton Move),” he said, referring to the defections that led to the toppling of the Pakatan Harapan administration in 2020.
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