KUALA LUMPUR: There is no longer a ‘fear factor wielded by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and this is partly the reason behind his failure to unseat Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“He ruled by fear. Once he was no longer president, there is no more fear of him nor the ability to control and he could not determine things in Umno. There was respect but no fear,” said the prime minister in an exclusive interview with The Star published today.

He said Dr Mahathir’s control of Umno was largely by virtue of being the then party president and prime minister and also operating through the menteris besar and chief ministers to control Umno divisions.

“Once the MBs were no longer there, he had no contact with the division heads. You’d be surprised that he didn’t know the names of many of them,” Najib said in his interview which took place in conjunction with the Umno General Assembly set to commence next week.

Najib explained that he did not rely on the menteris besar, but is part of them hence why he (Najib) could not be dislodged from Umno.

“I was just short of my 23rd birthday when I entered politics. It gave me a huge advantage because I grew up with over two generations of leaders in Umno,” he was quoted as saying by the English daily.

In the interview, Najib also shared a conversation he had with the late Lee Kuan Yew in 2009, who had likened Dr Mahathir to a heavyweight boxer who keeps punching until his opponent is worn out.

“He is obsessed about doing things his way, it’s his way or the highway. I thought he would go against me; what I did not anticipate was the meanness of his reaction,” he said, adding that the late Singapore leader’s analysis on Dr Mahathir was spot on.

Najib in his interview said it was the “epitome of Machiavellian politics” and the “height of hypocrisy” that Dr Mahathir is now sharing the stage with his one-time political nemesis Lim Kit Siang and shaking hands with with his former deputy Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“Do you think it’s for the love of Kit Siang, do you think Kit Siang loves Mahathir?,” he asked.

Najib believes that the “strange bedfellows” will not last long.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd