Umno leaders have defended their president, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak against the scathing criticism by former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Pulai MP Nur Jazlan Mohamed says there is little proof that Najib's losing support while Sabah speaker Salleh Said Keruak said using 1Malaysia Development Bhd and the purchase of the new government jet to attack Najib is unfair.

Salleh, who is former Sabah chief minister, said the purchase of the Airbus CJ320 was purely for security.

He argues that Malaysia is now at risk of a terrorist attack by the Islamic State and that other heads of states also have state of the art jets.

The US president, he said,  flies on the Air Force One, which costs more than RM700,000 an hour to run.

"The point I am making is that security is not cheap and security here includes proper transportation for the heads of state such as the prime minister and Agong," he wrote on his blog.

1MDB just like Temasek

Salleh said attacks on 1MDB is premature given that it is not even five years old.

In contrast, he said, Singapore’s sovereign fund Temasek Holdings was formed 40 years ago and has grown into a company with a RM600 billion portfolio, allowing shareholders a handsome profit.

"Would you consider Temasek a bad investment with such returns compared to the amount of money the Singapore government has invested in it?" asked Salleh (right) .

He argued that like Temasek, 1MDB has long-term aims, especially when Malaysia's oil wells run dry.

1MDB is a finance ministry firm meant for strategic investments, while the country’s counterpart to Temasek is Khazanah Holdings.

Salleh also took potshots at Mahathir for linking businessman Jho Low, who is close to Najib’s family, to the debacle.

Salleh said the former premier was once criticised for involving tycoon Ananda Krishnan with Petronas and appointing Daim Zainuddin as finance minister.

"When asked about this, Mahathir gave the classic reply. He said of course he would appoint his friends who he can trust. Who would appoint their enemies?" wrote Salleh.

No proof

Pulai MP Nur Jazlan Mohamed meanwhile said he has not seen anything to prove 1MDB’s difficulties in paying its debts or Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor’s alleged lavish lifestyle is costing the PM support.

"There is no issue about his position in Umno and in BN. I think the show of support from Umno and BN leaders show that he has no issues there at the party level.

 

"His position as prime minister is also the same because the BN MPs are supporting him. With the people, the only test is a general election which is still some time away," he said after chairing Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting in Parliament.

Nur Jazlan (left) was also asked to comment on Arau MP Shahidan Kassim's advice that former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Najib should resolve their differences behind closed doors.

He replied: "Both are great men with different opinions on where the country should be heading.

"Whether they can meet in between ( sic ) or not is up to them."

Earlier today, Mahathir wrote a scathing piece on his blog, condemning Najib's leadership and the many controversies surrounding him.

Mahathir warned that Umno and BN will lose the next general election unless Najib resigned as prime minister.

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