He clarified that only they had only reduced the number of bodyguards assigned to protect the former prime minister.
“It depends on the threat. If we think there are serious threats towards him, we will beef up the security,” he said after visiting the UTK’s training centre in Cheras today.
“There is still a female UTK officer who is assigned to his (Mahathir’s) wife (Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali),” he said.
In a Facebook post on Nov 1, Mahathir, who is the Pakatan Harapan chairman, claimed that the police had withdrawn the UTK men assigned as his personal bodyguards.
This came a year after the government had ended the contracts of his cook and office assistant.
The Prime Minister’s Department responded by issuing a statement that denied the government had withdrawn any services provided to former prime ministers, including Mahathir.
According to the department, Mahathir’s office had been provided with civil servants for his office at the Perdana Leadership Foundation and his residence at Mines Resort City, Selangor, in line with the Members of Parliament (Remuneration) Act 1980.
It said a total of 21 civil servants were assigned to Mahathir, the cost for which was borne by the government.
Meanwhile, Fuzi also justified the police’s actions against lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan for her claims made in Sarawak Report’s statement of defence in a court proceeding at London.
“Two (police) reports have been lodged, so we have to start the investigations.
“We have to give recognition and proper investigation on the RM90 million claim as it is serious,” he said, adding they have yet to call the former Malaysian Bar president to record her statement.
Ambiga said in a statement yesterday that she was puzzled why a criminal investigation was initiated on her.
She was recently named by editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown as the person who had revealed information that PAS leaders had received money from Prime Minister Najib Razak, as stated in an article published in Sarawak Report in August last year.
The article said RM90 million was paid to senior PAS leaders to woo them into supporting Umno and Barisan Nasional.
Last April, Hadi filed a defamation suit against Rewcastle-Brown at the London High Court.