PETALING JAYA: The Government could have easily erased Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s legacy by demolishing the iconic Petronas Twin Towers if it wanted to, said Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak (pic).
The Communications and Multimedia Minister said this in response to the former prime minister’s allegation that the Government wants to erase his legacy by killing off his brainchild, national carmaker Proton.
Salleh said if that is true, there are numerous other legacies of Dr Mahathir that could have been erased.
“If the Government wanted to erase his legacy, we could have just demolished KLCC.
“But the Government today always prioritises the people and develops infrastructure for the benefit of everyone, not just a few like what happened during his tenure,” he was quoted as saying by Barisan Nasional backbenchers’ news portal bnbbc.com.
On Thursday, Dr Mahathir had claimed that the Government is attempting to erase his name from Proton by preventing its staff from forging any cooperation with his supporters.
“They cannot associate my name with Proton. It needs to be sold 100% to foreigners so that the local automotive industry can be eliminated.
“Only imported cars will be allowed to be sold in Malaysia. They don’t want anything to do with me. They’d rather see the industry destroyed as long as Najib is happy,” he said.
Although Salleh admitted that Dr Mahathir had played an important role in Proton, he denied that the Government had any intention to end the local car industry.
He said the Government gave a loan injection of RM1.5bil to Proton last April to help it pay its vendors.
Dr Mahathir resigned as Proton chairman last March.
