Dr Mahathir Mohamad said his chain of bakeries, The Loaf, would not have closed down if the country was not administered by caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, and its economy was improving.

The Pakatan Harapan chairperson claimed that under Najib's rule, not only his bakery but a lot of other "big companies" have closed down.

"If Najib was no longer the prime minister and the country's economy was good, The Loaf would have survived, and would have profited. But if we take a rogue, the country will be in trouble.

"Not only The Loaf, a lot of other businesses have closed down, a lot of investors have fled, others have been affected as well.

"If we want to improve things, Najib has to step down," Mahathir told a press conference at the Bersatu headquarters today.

On Friday, it was reported that all 12 branches of The Loaf, nationwide, had abruptly shut down.

Singapore's Straits Times had reported Mahathir saying that he had tried to sell off the bakery chain he started in 2006, but a prospective buyer balked after purportedly being asked to pay "a lot of taxes" by the Inland Revenue Board. 

On Sunday, Najib said that blaming BN for the closure of the bakery chain was illogical.