In a press conference here today, the former prime minister said this was an “important reason” behind Pejuang’s loss in the polls, claiming that a certain party had given voters up to RM200.

“When we approached voters and asked them to vote for Pejuang, they asked us how much were we going to give them.

“And this is not one or two voters, but many. They told us that a certain party had given them RM200, but we don’t have any money to give them.

“We ask for voters’ support because we want to fight corruption. Why? Because corruption will destroy the country,” he said.

Mahathir pointed out that despite only having about 5,000 members in Johor, Pejuang managed to garner more than 18,000 votes, which he claimed was proof that the party was still capable of drawing supporters.

He also blamed their lack of votes on the low voter turnout, pointing out that 47% of those eligible to cast their ballots did not do so.

All 42 of Pejuang’s candidates in the Johor polls failed to get elected and also lost their deposits, as Barisan Nasional won 40 seats, Pakatan Harapan 12, Perikatan Nasional three, and Muda one.