BERSATU Armada (Youth) chief Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman is not the first to have received inducements to abandon the opposition camp, Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad said tonight.

“This is the work of Umno. Especially by this particular aide of Najib’s. He is the one who is always trying to buy over people,” the Bersatu chairman said, in response to request for comment on Syed Saddiq’s revelation earlier today that he was offered RM5 million to leave the party and pursue further studies.

“The offers run into the millions. But he (the aide) was mistaken if he thought Syed Saddiq could be bought over,” Dr Mahathir told The Malaysian Insight.

Dr Mahathir named the aide which The Malaysian Insight is withholding.

“It’s not just Syed Saddiq, others have received offers, too. This is the way Najib Razak wants to win the general election,” Dr Mahathir added.

Bersatu’s 25-year-old Youth chief today revealed he was offered RM5 million by a senior adviser to the prime minister to leave the party and continue his studies at Oxford.

“All this was organised by an aide to the prime minister. I was offered RM5 million to leave Bersatu and take up a scholarship at Oxford University.

“I’m not leaving Bersatu, but will continue to expose this systematic network of corrupt activities,” Syed Saddiq told the press earlier.

PH president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail also said that several PKR leaders had been offered such inducements to leave the party.

“We’ve also had similar experiences although I personally have never received such offers. But there definitely have been offers to others, even to our members of Parliament,” the PKR president and Permatang Pauh MP told The Malaysian Insight. – October 2, 2017.