Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he has not forgotten how the newly-elected Umno president had treated him in the past, and said that as such, a reconciliation with the party was not on the cards.

“Congratulations, this means he is loved by Umno, and I congratulate him, but we will not work with them.

“They obstructed us in many ways in the past such as not allowing us to collect donations, and ‘torturing’ my close friends who have since fled, leaving me alone,” he was reported as saying by The Star today.

Mahathir was speaking from his constituency of Langkawi after visiting his new service centre.

The former Umno president quit the party at the height of the 1MDB scandal and set up Bersatu.

Under Zahid's watch as home minister at the time, Bersatu faced numerous problems with the Registrar of Societies, which is under his ministry.

In the run-up to the 14th general election, ROS suspended Bersatu over certain document submissions, forcing Bersatu to contest under PKR's logo.

Using the common logo, the Pakatan Harapan coalition created history by dislodging Umno-BN from federal power in the May 9 polls.