Umno information chief Annuar Musa paid homage to Lim Kit Siang for succeeding in bringing to heel a formidable politician like Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said the former prime minister, who once appeared invincible in the world of politics, had succumbed to the DAP veteran's “sweet words”.

For this achievement, Annuar said Lim deserved the title of “political dictator”.

“There are several great people in Malaysian politics. But not many can charm or fight Mahathir and this includes (former finance minister) Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Anwar Ibrahim.

“Kit Siang had never been to the Umno headquarters when Mahathir was in Umno. But finally, Mahathir went to the DAP office.

“Now, Kit Siang is capable of capturing and taming Mahathir,” Annuar is quoted as saying by Umno Online at a Puteri Umno event last night.

Last week, Mahathir chaired the Pakatan Harapan presidential council meeting at the DAP headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Critics claimed this symbolised the former prime minister's surrender to his once arch nemesis.

Meanwhile, Annuar, like other Umno leaders, continued to propagate the perception that DAP controls the opposition coalition.

He claimed that other component parties in Harapan are fighting for their survival due to internal fissures and hoping for a lifeline from DAP.

The Umno leader also accused DAP of using “young Malay women” such as Dyana Sofia Mohd Daud for publicity purposes.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman Said, who was also present at the event, accused DAP of emulating Umno's modus operandi.

However, Azalina claimed, DAP, unlike Umno, exploited young women to garner attention and not because it truly appreciated the role played by them.