Dr Mahathir defends Guan Eng's Mandarin press statement

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has defended Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng over the flak which the latter had received for issuing a statement in Chinese.

“It’s a minor mistake, I don’t want to make it an issue. Sometimes we make mistakes.

I think he issued it in three languages, but for the Chinese audience he issued a statement in Chinese, that’s all,” the Prime Minister said when asked about the issue.

Lim was criticised by politicians and Malaysians alike after he had issued a statement in Chinese – ironically, to defend his use of trilingual statements for certain ministerial matters.

On Sunday (June 24), Lim issued a statement purely in Mandarin to defend his use of trilingual official Finance Ministry statements on Facebook, which infuriated social media users and politicians as many had to rely on translation tools to understand his comments.

Dr Mahathir, who was asked on Monday (June 25) whether he would advise Lim not to issue any statements in Mandarin from now, said he would not do so.

“We are not going to advise. He made a mistake, not intentional.He can issue a statement where he is empowered. When the announcement should be made by him, and that’s what he has done,” said the Prime Minister.