Among the first things he said was that he did not have a “culture” of opposing a prime minister and that he supported Dr Mahathir Mohamad as he was the present prime minister.
He also said his former boss Najib Razak should distance himself from Umno, given the charges levelled against him over the 1MDB affair.
This would allow the new Umno president to rebuild the party, he said.
Speaking outside Parliament, Nazri said he had chosen to remain silent as he wanted to see how things progressed and what new revelations would be made, including about the 1MDB-related investigations.
Asked about his “opposing voice” that was absent in the Dewan Rakyat, the Padang Rengas MP said: “I have been a politician for 28 years, and I have also been in government for 28 years. If I want to oppose the government, that’s hard for me, because I don’t have the culture of opposing the prime minister.”
The Umno MP said the people had decided in the general election what they wanted and there was “no use fighting against it anymore”.
“During the election, yes, we fight. But after the election, there is the result. Why should we fight over it any more? Give them a chance (to prove themselves), we’ll see then,” he said.
Asked if he supported the leadership of Mahathir, he said: “I don’t have a record of where I went against the prime minister. He was my prime minister before, he’s the one who left Umno, not me.
“I am surprised (at what has taken place), as back in the day, during Dr Mahathir’s time, (in the ’80s and ’90s when Mahathir was prime minister and Umno president), party members like me, whatever the president said, we would just follow without questioning or conducting further investigations.
“When Mahathir accused Anwar (current PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim) this and that, we stayed loyal to the party.
“Pak Lah (former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) and Najib (former prime minister Najib Razak), whatever they don’t tell us, we would still support them.
“That is why I have been silent (on these issues). Because I am waiting to see if there is more that will be revealed,” he said.
Commenting on investigations into the 1MDB, Nazri said: “If there is wrongdoing, then they should charge, that’s all. If the prime minister wants to do that, I can’t be angry at that. If we want to object, we have to object constructively.”
Asked if Najib should distance himself from the party, as suggested by Umno stalwarts Khairy Jamaluddin and Annuar Musa, Nazri said: “I agree because back in the day, when Mahathir handed over his position to Pak Lah, even though he was still Kubang Pasu MP, he stepped down 100%.
“This was so that Pak Lah could lead the party, and he did that to bring Barisan Nasional its huge win in 2004. The situation was similar when Pak Lah handed over the premiership to Najib. Pak Lah was still Kepala Batas MP and he gave all the room Najib needed to lead the party.”
Since Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was party president, he said, Najib should follow the examples shown by Mahathir and Abdullah.
“Zahid, of course, feels intimidated to voice out (how he feels), even as the new party president. But this isn’t a question of loyalty or non-loyalty.
“This is a question of love for the party now, and because Najib has been charged, and if he does not let go fully (of his position as party president), it is very hard for us to move on,” he said.
He said the party would be affected “more or less” by the 1MDB investigations and the charges levelled against Najib.
Asked if Umno should stop associating itself with Najib, Nazri said it should.
“Yes. As long as he doesn’t free us, we will always be shadowed by him. So he must understand and must follow in Mahathir and Pak Lah’s footsteps.
“This means that, he must entirely dissociate himself in order for Zahid to lead the party.
“This is not a question of loyalty or love for the party, because I believe that Mahathir and Pak Lah loved the party too, and that is why they made the decision to distance themselves (from the party) in order to prevent any stigma related to them lingering within the party. So I think Najib should do the same if he loves the party,” he said.
Asked if members should keep their distance from the former party president, Nazri said it was not easy as Najib was once their “boss”. He said Najib should not wait until he was told to keep away.
“Umno didn’t do anything wrong. Those charges, they are in relation to him, and not the party. But as long as he doesn’t dissociate himself, it is hard for the party to move on,” he said.