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14. In the event I just managed to win with a 43 vote majority while my running mate, Ghaffar had
a 41 vote majority.
15. Tengku Razaleigh's supporters took this issue to court seeking to force a new election. The
court decided that UMNO was an illegal party. I had to re-register UMNO as New UMNO, UMNO
Baru. Tengku Razaleigh formed a new party which he called Semangat 46 or Spirit of '46 (the
year UMNO was formed).
16. Both parties tried to attract the members of the former UMNO. UMNO Baru (New UMNO)
gained the most number of the former members and new members.
17. Dato Seri Abdullah opted to join UMNO Baru. Even though he supported Tengku Razaleigh I
did not stop him. However I did not appoint him as a Minister.
18. Semangat 46 did badly in the General Elections in 1990 and again in 1995. Tengku Razaleigh
dissolved the party and rejoined UMNO. I did not bear a grudge against him. His colleague Dato
Seri Rais Yatim was reappointed a Minister.
19. Dato Seri Abdullah Badawi contested for membership of the UMNO Supreme Council and
won. At the next election he contested for Vice President and came in second.
20. After that I concluded that UMNO members wanted him and I reappointed him as a Cabinet
Minister. I could not ignore the wishes of UMNO members. The party belongs to them, not to me
alone.
21. He then went on to be made Deputy Prime Minister and was accordingly elected by UMNO
Assembly as Deputy President.
22. All these things were possible when I was President of UMNO and Prime Minister. But the
moment I stepped down I was not allowed to meet UMNO Ministers and other UMNO leaders and
they were not allowed to meet me or attend any function where I spoke. This remains the
directive to this day.
23. UMNO members who invited me to speak were called up by UMNO Menteri Besar and the
Police and told to withdraw their invitation. After that UMNO branches stopped inviting me. They
had to persuade NGO's to invite me so that the few brave souls among them could attend
anonymously. UMNO Members of Parliament and State Assemblymen would not attend even the
NGO organised meetings.
24. Invitations by universities are not allowed and a few who did had to withdraw their invitations.
25. When I requested to see Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak, the UMNO Deputy President and
Deputy Prime Minister after the Election he said he had to get the permission of the Prime
Minister.
26. After a long time when the Press asked if I had met the Deputy Prime Minister, I had to
explain that I had not because the Deputy Prime Minister had not obtained the permission of the
Prime Minister yet. When I was Deputy Prime Minister I never had to get the permission of the
Prime Minister to see anyone. Neither had my four Deputies to ask permission from me. They
were free to see anyone they liked.
27. After the Press reported my reply, the Prime Minister denied he did not give permission.
Subsequently Dato Seri Najib invited me to see him in his house. I went and I found that he was
not willing to go against anything the Prime Minister said or did. It was obvious that he was afraid
of the Prime Minister. Why he is afraid I do not know. But all the Cabinet Ministers, Members of