Mahathir: Little chance of ousting Najib before polls

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA'S former premier Mahathir Mohamad conceded on Thursday that the chances of unseating Prime Minister Najib Razak before elections in 2018 are slim, despite his rallying cries for a "people's power" movement to topple the country's leader.

The 90-year-old statesman, who led Malaysia for 22 years, has urged Mr Najib to step down following allegations of corruption and mismanagement at state-owned fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

But Dr Mahathir says that lawmakers within Mr Najib's United Malays National Organisation (Umno) party are protecting their leader, and slammed them for not speaking up. "All of them are scared and they look after their own safety. They're not looking after the party, the nation. It's about themselves," he said, speaking from his office at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. "The way he's going, he might go full term. The way Umno has accepted him because they find he's comfortable…