“I never said that he was a billionaire.

“I think he misunderstood,” Zaid told FMT.

The former de facto law minister was asked to comment on Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s challenge to him to furnish evidence of his (Mahathir’s) wealth.

At a press conference yesterday, Mahathir said he disagreed with Zaid’s views.

“Maybe he has evidence. Then he can show evidence, how many billions I have,” Mahathir was quoted as saying.

But Zaid today explained that what he meant was that billionaires were the decision-makers in the government.

He also denied that he was referring to the likes of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin.

“Other people are saying that, not me.”

Earlier in a tweet, the former Kota Bharu MP said that Mahathir was “visibly upset” with his statement and said it was unfortunate that the latter misunderstood his writing.

“Even more unfortunate, I had to tell what others are saying, which is: Tun Daim and his billionaire friends are running the government.”