Umno supreme council member Puad Zarkashi has admitted that his initial April 12 statement accusing former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad of refusing to return the party’s property was based on “unclear” news reports.

In a Facebook post, Puad conceded that Mahathir had in 2015 signed off on the transfer of a 0.97ha plot of land that he was holding in trust for the party.

“But in 2017, the Federal Territory Land and Mines Office (PTGKL) rejected it on the grounds that...