PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin, when asked about Rahim’s run-ins with current Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, said critics should take into account the current political context.

“Then it was on the other side, now it’s on this side. Dr Mahathir Mohamad and I were also on the other side last time,” he told reporters at the Melaka PPBM convention.

Earlier today, DAP’s Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong urged PPBM to reject Rahim’s application to join the party.

Khoo’s constituency was once represented by Lim, when he was jailed for a charge of spreading false news after he accused Rahim of statutory rape.

Rahim had denied the rape claim.

In 2011, Rahim, once an ally of Anwar when the latter was in Umno, was among three individuals who revealed a video clip purportedly showing Anwar having sex with a prostitute. Anwar had then rejected the claim.

Muhyiddin said Rahim’s application to join PPBM today would go through a vetting process.

Rahim, who was the Melaka chief minister for 12 years until 1994, is the latest Umno politician to leave the party, which has recently seen an exodus of its MPs and senior leaders.