KUALA LUMPUR: Rafizi Ramli has hit out at Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi over the latter's deliberate attacks on him and the Central Database Hub (Padu).
The Economy Minister said Puad, who is an Umno Supreme Council member, would still be dissatisfied even if Malaysia became a rich country.
Rafizi said Puad's attacks against him had always been personal.
"For Puad, even if Malaysia becomes a rich country, he will still not agree with me because I was the one who brought the 1MDB issue when he was the director-general of the Special Affairs Department (Jasa).
"Then he lost the elections and was thrown out of government. So it's personal.
"If we look at what's happening, those who are against Padu and making noise about it are politicians and they only make up four or five people," Rafizi told reporters after the soft launch of the KL20 summit 2024.
On Sunday, Puad attributed the flaws of Padu to Rafizi's failures.
According to Puad, Rafizi, known as the "Formula King," was unsuccessful with his formulas this time around.
Rafizi said he did not want to focus on criticisms that only involved small groups, especially those of a personal nature.
"Any change usually faces opposition. But in our government, we have objectives and perspectives in managing stakeholders.
"Those who make the most noise usually have their own issues, and that's their right. We have explained that (regarding data security), all data is encrypted, so even if it leaks, they would need to decrypt that data," he said.
Rafizi said he welcomed any comments which were reasonable.
"What is at stake are aids to millions of people so I think we have gone through one year of process with the government and others.
"I welcome comments but let it be reasonable," he said.