Mahathir quits Umno over Najib scandal

Kuala Lumpur

FORMER Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad announced on Monday he was quitting the ruling party, saying it had degenerated into an organisation whose sole purpose was to protect the scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Razak.

For months, Dr Mahathir has been a leading voice calling for the ouster of Mr Najib, who is under pressure over allegations that billions of dollars had been pilfered from state firms, and for accepting a mysterious US$681 million sum from an overseas source.

"I want to leave Umno because it is no longer Umno," Dr Mahathir was quoted saying, referring to the United Malays National Organisation, which he led from 1981-…