DR M DISMISSES TALK HE IS DE FACTO PM

TRONOH (Malaysia), Oct 17 (Bernama) -- Dr Mahathir Mohamad Thursday brushed off talk that he will be the de facto prime minister, standing behind Najib Razak as alleged by former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim.

Zaid had also suggested that the fall of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was the
result of Dr Mahathir prevailing.

Describing the talk as "a lot of nonsense", Dr Mahathir said Najib was his
own man and there was no assurance that the deputy prime minister would listen
to whatever the former prime minister said.

"I also thought that when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was appointed (prime
minister), he would perhaps consult me on some issues, but as you see he never
asked me anything. In fact, he reversed all that I did," he told reporters after
delivering a public lecture at Universiti Teknologi Petronas, here
Thursday.

International Trade and Industry Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had also denied
that Dr Mahathir orchestrated the increasing popularity of him and Najib so that
they could be the future leaders of the country.

"I don't think you should be in any way confused because you see us
together (with Mahathir). The fact that we meet at certain functions doesn't
mean that there are major developments happening," Muhyiddin had told reporters
after co-chairing the 1st Malaysia-Indonesia Joint Trade and Investment
Committee Meeting in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday.
-- BERNAMA