FUKUOKA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has expressed amusement over former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's clarification of his infamous line “cash is king”.
Najib was reported to have said: “People are the king and the cash, we use to help the people.”
Dr Mahathir, who was in stitches over the report, described Najib as “fantastic”.
“Fantastic la Najib ni. Why did he not say it as such back then? Or why did he not implement it as such? If the rakyat is king, then go serve the rakyat. And not by giving them money. And when he is cornered, he couldn't find anything else to say.
“He said Dr Mahathir is malicious. And the (interpretation) is wrong. He did not explain that to me when he said it in front of me.
“This is absurd. Cash is king, but (Najib's wife Datin Seri) Rosmah (Mansor) got the money and bought all of her bags.
“Which portion of the money did the people get? They received bribes in exchange for support. People are not stupid,” he told Malaysian media at the wrap-up of his two-day working visit here.
On Umno disposing of stakes in media companies and raising funds up to RM2 billion, Dr Mahathir said he hoped the party would not use the money for corruption.
“We (Pakatan Harapan) did not buy the stakes, but some other parties did. We know Umno used the media to attack the government. They are not in power, but they have the media. And now they have decided to sell their stakes in the companies.
“Of course they get money from disposing of the stakes. If they use the money like before, which is to bribe, then they will have to face the law.”