KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 — DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke has reportedly denied Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's claim that the party and the former prime minister were only using each other to topple Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Free Malaysia Today quoted Loke saying that DAP continues to contend that its collaboration with Dr Mahathir and his Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia in 2018 was sincere.

"We were sincere in collaborating, hoping that Mahathir had changed,” he was quoted saying, referring to DAP.

"The goal was not only to bring down Najib’s administration but to also bring reforms. The strategy was effective and worked out well.”

However, Loke reportedly said that DAP is disappointed with the fall of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in 2020 after Dr Mahathir stepped down following the so-called "Sheraton Move”.

Loke added that he lauds Dr Mahathir’s honesty in admitting that he had manipulated DAP in order to remove Najib.

Loke also disclosed that although PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim — who was then in prison — was somewhat reluctant to team up with Dr Mahathir, he was eventually convinced of a need to collaborate.

Leading the PH coalition, Dr Mahathir became prime minister in 2018 after defeating Barisan Nasional for the first time in six decades.

Dr Mahathir made his remark in the Keluar Sekejap podcast hosted by former Umno leaders Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan.

Responding to the apparent inconsistency in dealing with DAP and PAS, Dr Mahathir said he too acknowledged that DAP wanted to use him since both shared the same goals, using the age-old proverb "the enemy of my enemy is my friend” as an analogy.