KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who disassociated himself from Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin after resigning as prime minister in February, today reiterated that he will never work with people whom he described as "traitors”.

The former prime minister explained that he formed Bersatu with Muhyiddin and entered the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition to oust Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Barisan Nasional government, but to see his successor now work with the leaders from the same parties they overthrew is something he will not stand for.

"To me this is a betrayal to the people. This is also a betrayal to our partners in PH that worked together to achieve our goals. Without PH, Muhyiddin may never have won, never have found a back door,” Dr Mahathir wrote on his blog.

He said he had to address the issue again after being advised to set aside his personal differences with Muhyiddin and lend the incumbent prime minister his support.

He added that history will remember Muhyiddin’s actions as a betrayal of Malaysians who voted for PH in the 14th general election.

He also predicted the demise of Bersatu in the next elections. 

"In the 15th General Election, Umno will fight with Bersatu which will be left dangling without the support of PH. Not only will Muhyiddin lose but all Bersatu candidates will be defeated. Thus Bersatu will come to an end and Umno’s resurgence of its ‘Cash is King’,” Dr Mahathir wrote.

He also claimed Muhyiddin is now more focused on staying on as prime minister and is therefore using DAP as a bogey to strike fear into the Malays.

Dr Mahathir, who was once scathing of DAP, came to its defence saying it was impossible for the party with only six ministers to control the rest of the Cabinet as long as he is in charge as prime minister.

"It is not DAP that can crush the Malays. The Malays could have crushed DAP if the Home Minister, a Malay himself, just revoked DAP’s registration. The power to revoke was in Muhyiddin’s hand,” he said.

Dr Mahathir who is seeking to return to office a third time claimed that Muhyiddin has reneged on his vow to end Najib’s rule and is now working to free the Pekan MP from charges instead.

"Far from fulfilling his promise of overthrowing Najib, Muhyiddin is now working tirelessly to ensure Najib walks free from his criminal charges to stand for the upcoming general election.

"At that time, Najib does not need Muhyiddin anymore because Najib wishes to be prime minister,” Dr Mahathir said.