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INTERVIEW | Dr. Mahathir Mohamad became Prime Minister in 1981, serving for 22 years. After retiring in 2003, he returned to fight two of his successors, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak, before once again winning all 14 general elections in 2018 to become the country’s seventh prime minister.
In the 2018 elections, Mahathir led Pakatan Harapan, a coalition of opposition parties made up of Bersatu, DAP, PKR and Amanah, to defeat Barisan Nasional, the same coalition he led during his first term as prime minister.
However, Mahathir’s second term as prime minister only lasted 22 months. This period was marred by accusations that the nonagenarian lacked power and was allegedly under the control of the DAP, which held the largest number of parliamentary seats in the Pakatan Harapan governing coalition.
Talking to Malaysiakini In an exclusive interview on Thursday, Mahathir once again refuted the belief that DAP once had him under its thumb.
“Saying that DAP controls me … I think you are insulting me if you think that DAP can control me,” Mahathir said sternly.
“The DAP didn’t have that power. The one who had the power was me. Everyone knows that I was PM for a long period. During the first 22 years when I was PM, who controlled me?
“Who had control over me? Not the International Monetary Fund (IMF), not even the World Bank …
