However, Najib said he had always communicated with Anwar on a regular basis.

“Yes, there was (a call on May 9). All this while, I have been communicating with him. Mostly, it was to ask him how he was personally,” he said in a live interview with Sinar Harian today.

Najib was responding to a question from Karangkraf Group executive editorial adviser Abdul Jalil Ali on whether he had called Anwar on the night of May 9.

At that point in time, Anwar was warded at the Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital, while still serving a prison term on a sodomy charge. He has since received a full pardon.

Anwar had previously claimed that Najib had contacted him that night, when Barisan Nasional (BN) lost power, to strike a deal.

However, the Port Dickson MP said Najib fell silent after he (Anwar) told him he would have to deal with Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Meanwhile, to another question, Najib denied there was any move to court PH MPs to hop over to BN.

“No, it is not true. There were a few leaders who came to my house, including Zahid (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi). We did not discuss stealing or buying over PH representatives to join us.

“I don’t know where that piece of news came from. I deny that.

“Also, there are claims that I had held a National Security Council (NSC) meeting on the night of May 9 to declare an emergency. That is also untrue. There was no NSC meeting planned that night,” he added.

In a recent interview, Mahathir had claimed that PH encountered “difficulties from within” on the night of May 9.

He accused Umno and PAS leaders of attempting to court Malay-Muslim elected representatives from PH to form a Malay-Muslim majority government.