PETALING JAYA, June 25 (Sin Chew Daily) — Dr Mahathir Mohamad who is planning to oust the Perikatan Nasional government to be the 9th Prime Minister, admits that the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is supporting Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin now.

Dr Mahathir, in an exclusive online interview with Sin Chew Daily, confirmed that after Perikatan Nasional took over as federal government, he no longer met GPS chairman cum Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg. Dr Mahathir was unable to reach him too. 

Asked whether Dr Mahathir met with Abang Johari after the Perikatan Nasional formed government, Dr Mahathir said, "No. I was unable to see him. I could not even reach him by phone."

Asked whether GPS backed Parti Keadilan Rakyat president Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Mahathir said, "Anwar says GPS is supporting him. To me, GPS backs Muhyiddin."

Dr Mahathir said now he had nothing to offer GPS. Abang Johari met him during the Sheraton Move period.

"He said he is supporting me 100%. I was very happy. But when signatures were required to draft a statement for the King, they did not support me," he said.

Asked why do GPS change stand at the eleventh hour, Dr Mahathir said, "I do not know… Now they support Muhyiddin."

Petronas unhappy to pay huge sum

"We hope GPS can support us. Muhyiddin attempts to bribe Sarawak by giving Sarawak lots of money. This is a form of bribery in exchange for support from Sarawak.

"Of course, he will say this is legitimate. I think Petronas is unhappy to pay Sarawak RM2.9 billion which exceeds the request made by Sarawak. Petronas is the only Malaysian company which has made it to Fortune Global 500 top companies.

"When you do such thing, Petronas is no longer a conglomerate. Petronas is at par with other conglomerates. But you have taken away its right here. Petronas will never be strong. Its contribution to the economy will be relatively lower," he said.