A “TOTALLY shattered” Najib Razak called his jailed rival, Anwar Ibrahim twice for advice the night Barisan Nasional lost power.

“When he called on the night of the election, I advised him as a friend to concede and move on,” Anwar told Reuters in an interview.

Anwar told Najib it was better to quickly issue a statement than to delay and be thought to be blocking the process.

It was not advice Najib wanted to hear, however. Anwar said Najib was instead thinking of what he could do and who he could consult. 

“He was just very evasive… he refused to concede early,” Anwar said.

While Najib kept quiet, Pakatan Harapan chairman and prime minister designate Dr Mahathir was less shy about declaring victory the same night.

At a news conference the next day, Najib said it was up to the King to decide which party would form the government because no party had achieved a simple majority in the general election.

Dr Mahathir was sworn-in as the 7th prime minister that night.

Anwar, who was released from jail yesterday after receiving a royal pardon for sodomy, said at no time did Najib offer him a deal to switch sides.

“Even if he had referred to that (a deal) I would have just ignored… I was just listening to him,” Anwar said, on whether Najib had tried to get him to to shift allegiance.

“After the second call, he was totally shattered.”

Reuters could not reach Najib for comment. – May 17, 2018.