00:00Anwar Ibrahim was open to collaborating with UMNO after the 2018 general election, as he
00:08was sceptical of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, his former mentor turned nemesis, according to
00:13a forthcoming book.
00:15Anwar, who never trusted Mahathir, did not oppose a proposal by Najib Razak for cooperation
00:21with Pakatan Harapan if the election resulted in a hung parliament, writes journalist Leslie
00:26Lopez, author of the book The Siege Within.
00:30According to Lopez, there had been a growing prospect that Barisan Nasional and UMNO could
00:35not win enough seats to form the next government, forcing then BN and UMNO chief Najib Razak
00:41to explore options.
00:44Although right-wing elements in UMNO pushed for Najib to lay the groundwork for declaring
00:48a state of emergency if BN lost, Najib rejected this drastic measure, aware of its potential
00:54consequences for Malaysia.
00:57Instead, Najib along with UMNO Deputy President Ahmad Zayed Hamidi, decided to keep communication
01:03open with Anwar and floated the idea of mutual cooperation with Pakatan Harapan, Lopez writes.
01:11Anwar's distrust of Mahathir stemmed from their 1998 fallout, which saw him removed
01:15from UMNO, sacked as Deputy Prime Minister and jailed.
01:19He later led the opposition through PKR and Pakatan Rakyat, which made spectacular gains
01:25in the 2008 general election.
01:29Natasha Bust, FMT News.
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