TONY Pua is a socialist who does not like businessmen, Dr Mahathir Mohamad said in response to the DAP lawmaker’s latest defence to the former prime minister’s complaints about him.

“Businessmen by definition are capitalists but he doesn’t like capitalists. 

“He’s basically a socialist although I have a different idea. I believe that capitalists, with their investments, can create jobs but he thinks I’m doing it because they are capitalists. It’s not true,” said Dr Mahathir during the launch of his latest book Capturing Hope in Kuala Lumpur today.

The 96-year-old former Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, who was also prime minister from 1981 to 2003, denied that he favoured businessmen because of cronyism. 

“I have a lot of very poor businessmen too (who are friends with me) but they fail. If they fail they are not my cronies, but if they succeed they are (considered) my cronies. (But) the ones who succeed are very few. 

“I did not favour them just because they are capitalists. The job is to give a good life to all in Malaysia, rich and poor and different races, and we want to develop the country. 

“This cannot be done by only having the rich as the poor also need to work,” said Dr Mahathir who is now chairman of Pejuang, an opposition party but not part of PH.

He added that he had always worked with unions but claimed Pua did not notice this.

“I’m very friendly with the unions and they all work with me because what I did was in favour of them. 

“But Pua did not notice that. All that I say is true, that he was behaving like a minister and it was causing a lot of problems with the business climate in this country,” said Dr Mahathir.

The nonagenarian and Pua, who is Damansara MP, are currently in an open spat after Dr Mahathir named a problematic political secretary who behaved like a minister in his latest book.

He did not name Pua, who was political secretary to then finance minister Lim Guan Eng when PH was in federal power.

“I did call (Lim) and told him that this man is causing a lot of problems and is behaving like a minister, calling up officers and meeting many business people.

“As you know I didn’t name him but he understands that it was about him. This in itself is proof that what I said is true. Why should he respond if it is about somebody else?” Dr Mahathir asked today.

Pua earlier today issued his third response to Dr Mahathir today, challenging the former prime minster to name the businessman who had called him arrogant. 

The Damansara MP also claimed that Dr Mahathir had never highlighted the issue to him or heard his side of the story.

He didn’t do the work of a political secretary, says Dr Mahathir

In today’s forum after the book launch, Dr Mahathir said that Pua did not play the role of a political secretary but tried to act like the finance minister instead.

He said the role of the political secretary was created by the Abdul Razak Hussein administration in the 1970s.

“Back then, many supporters complained they did not have any roles to play in the government. Ministers also complained they could not attend to their constituencies.”

In response, Dr Mahathir said the government created the role of political secretaries to help the ministers manage their constituencies.

He said that political secretaries are meant to communicate with voters, listen to their grouses and understand their political concerns and report to the ministers so that they know what was happening on the ground. 

“This is so the minister can respond appropriately to the grouses.”

“Instead of that, Pua didn’t look into that role but behaved as if he was the and had the authority of a minister. 

“What he did was to meet every businessman not in his constituency and behave like the finance minister. He wants to make sure things are done,” said the Langkawi MP.

On Pua’s response he had only interfered in one case, Dr Mahathir said there were others.

“When the developer (who is working on a government project) has no money, he wants to borrow from the bank. 

“(In this case) he got into trouble and appealed to the government and the government said he could borrow but gave him conditions, which is he has to surrender his project if he cannot complete.

“But he didn’t fail. The government, when lending money, can impose very oppressive conditions and Pua was using that agreement to threaten that businessman. 

“But it was not only that (one) businessman. There were many others who called me and complained about Pua and said he threatens people. But of course he is going to deny it.“

When asked whose version was correct, Dr Mahathir replied: “It is up to people to to decide whether what I said is true or what he says is true.” – December 12, 2021.