Dr M should stick to facts, not get emotional, says Kian Ming
Ong Kian Ming says pre-conceived notions by Dr Mahathir Mohamad made it difficult to push through reform agendas and fiscal initiatives in the Pakatan Harapan administration.
KUALA LUMPUR: DAP’s Ong Kian Ming has come to the defence of his party colleague and Damansara MP Tony Pua over several accusations made by Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The Bangi MP was responding to excerpts from the former prime minister’s new book in which the latter makes a veiled reference to Pua, accusing him of being arrogant and behaving like a minister during his tenure as the political secretary to finance minister Lim Guan Eng in the former Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration.
Mahathir also claimed several businessmen had complained about Pua.
“Rather than focusing on the facts, I think Mahathir may have been reacting in a very overly emotional way.
“This was coloured by any perceptions that he had of Pua that may have been told to him by other people,” he said at the SME CEO Forum 2021 at the Pullman Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Hotel.
He said that such pre-conceived notions by Mahathir made it very difficult for Pua and Lim to push through some of the reform agendas and fiscal initiatives under their ministry at the time.
“I was part of the finance ministry team together with Guan Eng in the first two months.
“So I know they worked very hard and whatever they did, I know they worked in the interest of the country.
“Maybe when it comes to the negotiations, I’m not quite sure about the details. But I know that their direction has always been for the financial health and strength of the country,” Ong said.
Mahathir also claimed that business people had turned sour towards PH due to Pua’s attitude.
“Lim felt that Najib Razak’s government was crooked and he should do away with all the contracts entered into by the previous government,” he was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini.
“But when you do that, you hurt the contractors and whoever gets their jobs, including workers, suppliers and supporting companies. So, we cannot simply do away with the contracts nor reduce the contracts by force.
“As the political secretary, you are supposed to report on the politics of the country, not go around implementing government policies,” Mahathir said.
KUALA LUMPUR: DAP’s Ong Kian Ming has come to the defence of his party colleague and Damansara MP Tony Pua over several accusations made by Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The Bangi MP was responding to excerpts from the former prime minister’s new book in which the latter makes a veiled reference to Pua, accusing him of being arrogant and behaving like a minister during his tenure as the political secretary to finance minister Lim Guan Eng in the former Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration.
Mahathir also claimed several businessmen had complained about Pua.
“Rather than focusing on the facts, I think Mahathir may have been reacting in a very overly emotional way.
“This was coloured by any perceptions that he had of Pua that may have been told to him by other people,” he said at the SME CEO Forum 2021 at the Pullman Bangsar Kuala Lumpur Hotel.
He said that such pre-conceived notions by Mahathir made it very difficult for Pua and Lim to push through some of the reform agendas and fiscal initiatives under their ministry at the time.
“I was part of the finance ministry team together with Guan Eng in the first two months.
“So I know they worked very hard and whatever they did, I know they worked in the interest of the country.
“Maybe when it comes to the negotiations, I’m not quite sure about the details. But I know that their direction has always been for the financial health and strength of the country,” Ong said.
Mahathir also claimed that business people had turned sour towards PH due to Pua’s attitude.
“Lim felt that Najib Razak’s government was crooked and he should do away with all the contracts entered into by the previous government,” he was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini.
“But when you do that, you hurt the contractors and whoever gets their jobs, including workers, suppliers and supporting companies. So, we cannot simply do away with the contracts nor reduce the contracts by force.
“As the political secretary, you are supposed to report on the politics of the country, not go around implementing government policies,” Mahathir said.
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kt comments:
I always have a lot of time for Ong Kian Ming, one of the really earnest, sincere and hardworking DAP politicians - even though he may be one of LGE's inner coterie, he sets himself apart by his actions, mannerism and behaviour as a true gentleman in the world of DAP politics, equal to stalwarts like Ramkarpal, Sangeet.
But Mahathir has been right ONLY on one point, that TP has been an arrogant person, big-headed and someone who looks down on "mere mortals" who are everyone other than himself and his mates in the DAP inner coterie.
When the situation suits TP, he would publicly lash out at even his own DAP colleagues let alone those whom he sees as not up to his self-perceived Oxfordian credentials.
We must not forget how then-Transport Minister Anthony Loke rebuked him for imperiously upsetting taxi drivers in his unauthorised statement that Putrajaya (PH government) was considering pursuing public-private partnerships in areas such as public transport, and that "the government has no plans to scrap the feeder bus service and replace it with Grab."
All I can hope is that Mahathir and TP will continue to eff each other up kaukau, wakakaka. Chinese would note both Mahathir and TP have no such quality as kamceng, wakakaka.
As for Mahathir, his hatred for Najib probably has more to do with Najib's treatment (or lack of) for Mukhriz in poor Boi-Boi's futile attempt to secure one of UMNO VPs position, a necessary step in Boi-Boi's climb to the PM position, rather than 1MDB. Recall how Mahathir raved and ranted in his insinuations about alleged Najib's complicity in Altantuyaa's murder. Now that the crimes of 1 MDB suffices for the deposing of Najib, has he invoked the Mongolian murder anymore?
Did anyone believe the Old Man was really interested in justice for the murder per se, which BTW happened in Oct 2006. Note that Mahathir left UMNO because of his failure to initiate a revolt against AAB in 2006 and after UMNO lost its 2/3 majority in the 2008 election, BUT he rejoined UMNO when Najib became PM in 2009. Would he have done that if he was truly concerned about Najib's alleged complicity in the Mongolian murder. Subsequently when he couldn't get Najib to do what he wanted, the murder just became merely a tool to depose Najib just as 1MDB became another for his Machiavellian connivance.
Many asked why AAB and Najib failed to eff-ed Mahathir up for his sins of the earlier 22 years of rule? As I had blogged upon a number of time, UMNO had an Omerta code, meaning ruling UMNO leaders kept mum on whatever their previous leaders did, regardless of their respective party (UMNO) factionalism ..... Until the Old Man came along. He wasn't one to respect any code or whatever, not because he was scrupulous or that the code was dishonorable. He was a just a self-centred pompous dictator who had destroyed UMNO TWICE, Tunku's original UMNO and his own, UMNO Baru.
Thus, when the FOREX scandalous "gambling" a la Monte Carlo Casino was perpetuated, UMNO leaders such as AAB and Najib stuck to Omerta, not to say they did the right thing but such was the UMNO Omerta. The subsequent RCI into FOREX was just a warning to the Old Man.
But when the 1MDB-SRC embezzlement presented itself as a tool, the Old Man eff-ed Omerta and UMNO because his imperial personal interests, hatred and vindictive malice overrode everything, and indeed to eff with UMNO, Malaysia, the World and the son of the man who brought him back from the Cold to which Tunku had cast the Kerala monster into.
To reiterate, he has no party, Omerta or personal loyalty - none whatsoever - everything was/is for himself & family, again bearing in mind he would destroy even his own UMNO Baru, very willingly, like a poisonous snake.
And Ong Kian Ming asked him to be not emotional? That's a request akin to Ong KM pissing into the howling Kerala wind.
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