He has been one of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s staunchest critics, and pundits believed that he was following the command of his ex-boss, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

However, Zainuddin Maidin, who is popularly known as Zam, has suddenly decided to stop commenting on current political affairs.

In a blog posting today, the former information minister said he made the decision after considering all aspects, which included "having peace of mind in his old age by being free of threats, pressure and his name being soiled".

Commenting on this, fellow blogger A Kadir Jasin (left), who is also said to be closely linked to Mahathir, exclaimed surprise.

"He (Zainuddin) has never indicated this to me. The issue never arose during our discussions,” he told Malaysiakini.

However, the former News Straits Times group editor-in-chief declined to speculate on the reasons behind Zainuddin’s decision.

Meanwhile, Umno sources indicated that the former minister could have been pressured into putting down his pen.

"When you are seen as anti-establishment, the pressure can be tremendous and numerous measures can be employed to ensure that you toe the line or cease criticising the leadership," said one of them.

Is Najib colluding with Anwar?

Of late, speculations of a civil war in Umno gained traction after the party-linked media provided space for PKR leaders, including Anwar Ibrahim, to launch attacks on former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, another Mahathir strongman.

In his blog post, Zainuddin said that during his five decades in journalism, he has never been a mercenary writer.

The former minister also said he felt insulted that just because he had a drink with Daim and met Mahathir, he was considered to be part of a conspiracy to oust Najib.

"If that is the case, can I also conclude that TV3 airing Anwar’s threat to expose Daim’s (alleged) wrongdoing means that Najib is colluding with Anwar to safeguard his position," he said.

Zainuddin said the social media often referred to him as an ally of Mahathir, but noted that the former premier had once remarked that "Zam is a friend, but he can be troublesome at times."

"Perhaps I am among the thousands of journalists and writers who still support the ideal of using journalism in the struggle to correct the world and humans.

"But I also realise the words of Mahathir (when he was prime minister), who when I told him about the wrongdoings of key people in his administration, replied, 'Zam, even the prophet cannot correct the world'," he added.