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Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad apologised to his allies of MPs at his Kuala Lumpur office on Sunday, March 1, as his former right-hand man Muhyiddin Yassin was about to be sworn-in as the new prime minister.

The apology by Mahathir was recorded on video and has surfaced on Twitter:

[Tun M Dedahkan Pengkhianatan Muhyiddin] pic.twitter.com/bx84pdE9BJ

— Rashid Yusoff (@RashidYusoff11) March 2, 2020

In it, the 94-year-old veteran apologised for resigning as prime minister on Feb. 24.

"I made mistakes. I decided to resign. I resigned because I lost support (of the majority of MPs). So I had to resign. I had no choice," Mahathir said.

"I thought that if I resigned, it goes back to the Agong (to choose a new prime minister)."

It is not known if he knew the video would be made public in such a manner, but his tone was candid as usual.

As he spoke in a mix of Malay and English, the 72-year-old Anwar Ibrahim can be seen standing behind with arms folded and wearing a grave expression.

Should not have trusted Muhyiddin

Mahathir said he resigned abruptly after believing that he had lost the majority of support because Bersatu MPs had transferred their support from the Pakatan Harapan to the new coalition.

Mahathir was also seen and heard in the video saying that he was tricked into trusting Muhyiddin.

"Immediately after telling me that he is loyal to me, (he betrays me). He wasn't expressing loyalty to me. He expressed loyalty to himself," Mahathir said.

"He is willing (to cooperate) even with thieves, robbers and killers. That is the type of character that we have"

Mahathir also apologised for not realising sooner that he was about to be betrayed.

"I'm sorry. He was my No. 2 man. I've always had a suspicion, but you don't always act on suspicion. If you have full proof, you act," he said.

Mahathir said he could have regained support in the end, but that did not happen.

"So I will like to tell you once again, I am very sorry," he said in the video, which then ended.

What happened

Muhyiddin and a majority of Bersatu MPs broke off from Mahathir to team up with MPs from Umno, PAS, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and several smaller parties.

The idea that Muhyiddin has a majority of support from MPs to form the government has been cast as a bodacious attempt to grab power that has paid off.

The exact number of MPs loyal to Muhyiddin and Mahathir is still uncertain.

Muhyiddin's support can be tested when Parliament reconvenes and a vote of confidence can be tabled.