KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad admitted today his negativity towards former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin was because the latter had once been a rival to the former prime minister’s son, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, in the Malay nationalist party.

Confronted by Khairy on the Keluar Sekejap podcast aired earlier, Dr Mahathir claimed he was also informed that Khairy’s mother-in-law — Tun Jeanne Abdullah — had backed him in the unspecified contest against Mukhriz.

"It was you contesting against my son, and your mother-in-law had campaigned for you,” Dr Mahathir said when asked why he disliked Khairy.

This led to Khairy letting out a surprised chuckle before attempting to correct Dr Mahathir on the purported familial support he received.

"People told me-lah,” Dr Mahathir said, before trying to change the subject.

While Dr Mahathir did not specifically name which contest, Khairy had in 2009 defeated Mukhriz in a three-cornered fight to be the Umno Youth chief.

Handpicked by Dr Mahathir to be his successor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had endured a tempestuous relationship with the former after taking over as Umno president in 2003.

Abdullah’s unwillingness to continue several mega-projects from the Mahathir administration saw the relationship strained further, with Dr Mahathir subsequently launching a campaign to oust Abdullah as the prime minister, which also targeted Khairy in the process.