In a statement, Mahathir’s office said the claim by Zahid was “completely untrue”.

“If Mahathir had intended to ban Umno as prime minister then, he would have instructed the home minister to do so. But for over the two years he was prime minister, Umno continued to exist,” it said.

The statement added that Mahathir only told Zahid to dissolve the party as Umno no longer stood for the Malays and its founding principles, and because its leaders were linked to corruption.

It also said the decision to dissolve Umno, or otherwise, rested with Zahid and the party’s leadership if they felt the party had strayed from its path and no longer deserved to be known as “Umno”.

“Zahid was subsequently slapped with 47 corruption charges in court. The fact that the party still exists is proof that it was never banned,” the statement said.

Previously, Zahid had openly admitted to being the mastermind behind events that led to Mahathir stepping down as prime minister.

Zahid, who is also the deputy prime minister, said he did what he needed to do to save Umno from being deregistered as a political party.

He said he was informed by now Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim that the then home minister Muhyiddin Yassin was ready to make a move on cancelling Umno’s registration.

Zahid said he had to “find a way”, given that Umno’s members and leaders had relied on him to find the best approach and ensure the party was not deregistered.

Mahathir had also shot down Zahid’s claim that he was the reason the former prime minister stepped down in 2020.

Instead, Mahathir said he resigned because the party he led, Bersatu, chose not to follow his advice, making him feel that he should resign honourably.