Writing in his blog today, Salleh said countries such as Japan and Germany had excelled after the second world war because they had to struggle to survive whereas empires such as Britain faded away from rot and complacency.

“Sometimes competition is good when it makes you aware that unless you buck up and work harder you face the risk of defeat.

“So maybe Mahathir is doing Umno and Barisan Nasional a favour by offering us some competition because competition is always good to see success,” Salleh wrote, adding that the veteran politician’s decision also proved that he was not trying to save Umno but was bent on destroying it instead.

“Dr Mahathir has finally admitted that the only way to change the government is in a general election.

“Of course, Mahathir will not admit that he is trying to change the government. He claims he is just trying to remove prime minister Najib Razak to save Umno, Barisan Nasional and Malaysia.

“It is strange that someone would want to save the party that he claims he still loves by trying to destroy it. It is like saying that you want to save humanity by destroying the world,” he added.

-BERNAMA