KUBANG PASU: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad denied allegations that he offered funding to Pas to accept his son, Datuk Seri Mukhriz, as a candidate in the upcoming state election under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) banner.
Dr Mahathir dismissed the claims as baseless, stating that he is not wealthy enough to fund any political party.
"I don't have any money, the only person who says I have money is (the Prime Minister) Anwar.
"That's why I told him, if he could find RM1 billion (owned by me), I would give half of that to him," he said this after attending a Hari Raya Aidilfitri Open House programme in Kampung Naga Here on Thursday.
On May 6, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim challenged past leaders who allegedly amassed wealth during their tenures in leading the country to surrender half of what they had gained to the Malays if they were truly sincere in helping the community.
Anwar accused past leaders such as Dr Mahathir and former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin of enriching themselves and their relatives but failing to help the Malays until today. He hoped the message would be relayed to them.
In response to Anwar's challenge, Dr Mahathir said Anwar should declare his assets and disclose his wealth to the public.
The former prime minister also stressed that Anwar will have to answer for all of his claims against him in court.
"Why should he challenge Malay leaders? He is also a Malay leader too, he should declare his assets as well, he should set an example.
"He must answer for making such allegations, claiming that I have a billion (ringgit) and Mukhriz has billions, that I have jet planes and such. We have taken this to court and he said he will answer, so be it," he added.
On May 5, Dr Mahathir filed a RM150 million defamation suit against Anwar at the Shah Alam High Court, with the current prime minister named as the sole defendant.
The suit cited Anwar's speech during a PKR special congress in which he accused Dr Mahathir of being racist and enriching himself and his family members during his 22-year tenure as prime minister.
On a separate matter, Dr Mahathir confirmed that Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) has now ceased its functions as a political pact due to its failure in the 15th General Election (GE15) in November.
"There's nothing there anymore, nothing anymore... GTA didn't work, it could not help our cause. It was formed as a political pact.
"However, of the 125 seats that it contested in GE15, it failed to win any. If we want to fight for the Malays, we must have Malay support. it's not functioning," he added.
In GE15, all 125 GTA candidates — including Dr Mahathir and Mukhriz — failed to even get enough votes to keep their election deposits.