KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians would be reluctant to trust Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's "recycled" promise that he will serve as prime minister only for a brief period, if given a chance to do so, after the 15th general election (GE15).
Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the two-time former prime minister made a similar pledge to stay in power for only two years before promising to pass the baton to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when Pakatan Harapan (PH) took over Putrajaya in 2018.
"(Eventually), the country descended into chaos and Barisan Nasional (BN) had to step in and form an interim government to ensure the country's administration can go on," he claimed.
On Saturday, Dr Mahathir said he was willing to become prime minister for a third time if there was no suitable candidate to assume the position.
Zahid said the Parti Pejuang Tanah Air and Gerakan Tanah Air chairman should reflect on his own administration before blaming a lack of experts in the current government to overcome economic challenges.
He said BN kept the country's debt below 50.9 per cent against the Gross Domestic Product while the figures soared beyond 103 per cent during Dr Mahathir's rule in the 1980s.