Former Umno stalwart Dr Mahathir Mohamad has quashed the party's fearmongering that Lim Kit Siang would become prime minister if the opposition were to take over Putrajaya.

Defending his old nemesis turned good friend, Mahathir questioned why Lim would even want to be prime minister, citing how he had turned down an opportunity to be a minister under Abdul Razak Hussein.

"After 1969, when Razak was forming BN he invited DAP (to join) too, not just Gerakan and SUPP.

"If Lim wanted to be a minister he would have joined (BN), all those who joined became ministers.

"But he didn't want to be a minister, what more the prime minister," Mahathir said at a ceramah in Shah Alam last night...