However, his action of opposing Umno now has caused many to think he was stabbing the party that also gave enormous benefits to his family members, said Prime Minister Najib Razak.

“He and his family had derived a lot of benefits from his position as PM, which was due to the strength of Umno and BN.

“So, when he told the people to reject the party which had done a lot for him, there were negative reactions against his stand because without BN and Umno, he would not have become prime minister or even a minister.”

Najib was speaking at a news conference last night at the end of his working visit to the United Kingdom.

He was expected to depart today for Sochi, Russia, for the two-day Russian-Asean Summit.

Najib was asked to comment on Dr Mahathir’s statement that called on Opposition parties to be united against BN in the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar by-elections on June 18.

The prime minister said many were of the view that Dr Mahathir should not reject and stab the party that had contributed so much to the development of the nation.

Asked on whether he was disappointed with the matter, Najib said he had expected it (Dr Mahathir’s action).

The Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar parliamentary by-elections will be held following the demise of incumbents Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan and Noriah Kasnon in a helicopter crash in Sarawak recently.

When asked on the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle, the prime minister said he was still thinking about it and touched on the need to fill the post in the plantation industries and commodities ministry.

This followed the resignation of Douglas Uggah Embas as plantation industries and commodities minister and the deaths of his deputy, Noriah, and Secretary-General Dr Sundaran Annamalai.

– BERNAMA