“Tan Sri Ali, don’t worry. I am your brother. I will help you to make sure you win again,” Zahid told a dinner event by former members of Umno-backed youth organsation, Belia 4B, which Ali once headed.

“I have been to Bukit Katil twice, tell your people, tell your voters, tell your supporters. I will make sure you win,” said Zahid.

Ali was transferred to contest a parliamentary seat, Bukit Katil, where he lost to PKR vice-president Shamsul Iskandar Akin with a 5,447-vote majority.

Ali once courted controversy after he hosted a wedding reception for his son in 2012, which was attended by about 130,000 guests and certified by the Malaysia Book of Records as the wedding reception with the biggest turnout.

Critics, who dubbed the wedding a “mega kenduri”, had then said it could cost up to RM13 million, but Ali said several companies had sponsored the event and that he had only spent RM600,000 for a “kampung-style” wedding.

Following his defeat, Ali was appointed a senator. He is now the chairman of Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad, a government body to encourage Bumiputera entrepreneurship.