PETALING JAYA: The acrimony between Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad continues, with Najib claiming that the latter had pressured him to support his cronies' projects.

       "I am grateful for his support for me to become the prime minister but he also pressured me to support his cronies’ projects," said Najib in a Facebook post on Sunday (Feb 20).

       Najib claimed that his refusal to comply with Dr Mahathir’s requests had irked Dr Mahathir into plotting his downfall alongside Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in 2014 before the 1MDB issue began.

       Najib also quoted Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir’s statement in the High Court which said that he agreed his father attempted to topple Najib even before 2015.

       This follows Dr Mahathir’s second open letter to Johor voters on Saturday (Feb 19) saying that Najib was not ashamed despite his convictions by the court.

       "He (Najib) must be stopped. If he comes back to power, this means that the country will be controlled by a kleptocrat from the 'court cluster' and risks being robbed," he said.

       Dr Mahathir added that he had no personal vendetta against Najib, but said that Najib's brother Tan Sri Nazir Razak came to see him at the height of the 1MDB scandal and asked him to do something as billions of ringgit had vanished.

       The Langkawi MP also said that he had supported Najib prior to the scandal and pressured Tun Abdullah Badawi to appoint him as the deputy prime minister during the latter's tenure.

       He however said that Najib was unlike his father who was a nationalist and a dignified fighter for the nation while Najib on the other hand stole the wealth of the country with the assistance of fugitive Jho Low.

       Najib also previously traded barbs with Muhyiddin online with both former prime ministers labelling each other a "traitor".