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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