LANGKAWI: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has denied that he waged a vendetta against Umno president, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The former prime minister said records showed that he had always been open to his political enemies and had even appointed his opponents as cabinet members.
"I do not hold any grudge against Zahid. If I am a vengeful person, my enemies would not get a seat (in the cabinet).
"When Ku Li (Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah) fought against me, his supporter was Pak Lah (Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) and after his loss, I reinstated Pak Lah in Umno until he became a prime minister," he said in a Press conference, here, today.
He said this when asked to comment on Zahid's statement claiming that Dr Mahathir held a grudge against him for the last 26 years while giving a speech at a meet-and-greet session with residents of a public housing scheme in Bagan Datuk yesterday.
Earlier, Dr Mahathir, who is also Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) chairman, spent 20 minutes observing the early voting process at Langkawi Police Training Centre (Pulapol) here.
On voters' support for GTA during the 15th general election (GE15), Dr Mahathir said he saw positive support for the coalition. GTA is contesting under the Pejuang banner after it failed to get approval in time for GE15 from the Registrar of Societies.
"Wherever I go to give my speech, large crowds come and they look friendly while chanting 'Hidup Pejuang'. This shows they are supporting us.
"Even when I made impromptu visits, residents still gathered and announced their support for GTA," he said.