He dubbed the claims by some quarters that implied Mahathir masterminded the move as nothing short of “slander.”

“If someone said Dr Mahathir is involved in this (the motion of no confidence), that’s outright slander.

“Leave him out of this, he has nothing to do with it. Don’t slander anyone, it is sinful,” Ahmad Said, who was the state’s menteri besar prior to Ahmad Razif, told FMT today.

The Kijal assemblyman was commenting on a remark by Ahmad Razif that there were “certain parties” who were behind his no-confidence motion.

Ahmad Said also challenged his successor to prove who specifically he was referring to and said, “Who drove me? Ask him (Ahmad Razif) first who drove me. Who are these ‘certain parties’?

“Let him answer first, then I will answer,” he said.

Besides Ahmad Razif, there were also other Umno figures who implied that Ahmad Said’s move had been prompted by Mahathir.