Guan Eng’s adviser was arrogant, Mahathir maintains
He says the aide behaved as though he were the minister instead of a political secretary.
(MalaysiaNow) – Dr Mahathir Mohamad today defended his remarks about an aide to former finance minister Lim Guan Eng whom he accused in his latest memoir of interfering in government business and threatening a developer involved in a troubled project, saying the aide had behaved “as if he was the minister” instead of a political secretary.
“He was very arrogant,” the former prime minister said when asked about the issue during a virtual media session.
“He behaved as if he was the minister. As a political secretary, you are supposed to report on the politics of the country, not go around implementing government policies.”
Mahathir also said he had heard from many others that the aide whom he said was the adviser to the finance minister, was “very arrogant”.
“Maybe a lot of things were said about him and his background and all that,” he said. “But lots of people complained to me. If I were to cite them, I would fill a book, pages of cases.”
In his book “Capturing Hope: The Struggle Continues for a New Malaysia”, Mahathir said he had “put a stop” to a DAP leader whom he discovered had been participating in meetings in which he had no authority.
“There were also occasions when this adviser spoke publicly on behalf of the government despite having no standing to do so.
