Pergh.......
KUALA LUMPUR, July 26:
While he was prime minister for 22 years until his retirement in 2003, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would engage in sarcasm mode and make biting comments when he was upset about something.
Now almost 22 months into retirement, journalists saw a repeat of this yesterday at a Press conference called by Dr Mahathir to comment on the removal of Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff as chief executive officer of Proton.
The onslaught he unleashed was vintage Mahathir — striking, battering and in no uncertain terms making clear his anger, displeasure and disappointment with all whom he blamed for the decision on Mahaleel.
Gambar Semalam
For instance, he said he would not use the word "dismiss" to describe Tengku Mahaleel’s removal from the job, lest he be "sued for libel".
But in the next breath, when asked whether he would stay on as adviser of Proton, his reply was: "Unless I’m dismissed."
His confidence seemed supreme, just as Malaysians saw and heard him before he retired.
Journalists were at the receiving end of Dr Mahathir’s (left) sharp tongue when he was asked whether he believed that "powerful hands" were behind Mahaleel’s removal.
His reply: "That is up to the Press to presume, because the Press is a free Press. They report everything I say verbatim."
The former prime minister’s other comments:
On the removal of Mahaleel as chairman of Proton subsidiaries:
"The chairman of the holding company (Datuk Azlan Hashim) is (now) also chairman of the subsidiaries. This poses some problem because the chairman of the subsidiaries normally reports to the holding company.
"So, it would mean that the chairman is reporting to himself. Of course, this may be ‘best practices’ (as specified by Bursa Malaysia). I wouldn’t know."
On whether Proton Holdings chairman Datuk Azlan Hashim had told him who would replace Mahaleel:
"No name was mentioned. He said something about head-hunting (hiring a company to search for a qualified executive). Maybe he (Azlan) is from Sarawak."
(In the old days, Sarawak’s native Dayaks used to collect and display their enemies’ heads in their longhouses.)
On whether he was satisfied with Rafidah’s reply on the AP issue:
"I will give all the facts plus the letters that I received and the letters that I hid. I will give them in instalments."
(Former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had claimed he had "six boxes" of documents proving corruption in the Government and had hidden them in a safe place. He had then claimed he would release the documents in instalments.)
On Rafidah’s comments at the Umno assembly that she considered Dr Mahathir "a father":
"I regard all the ladies in this country as my daughters. I’m old enough to be their father."
On the sharp rise in Proton shares on news of Mahaleel’s removal:
"Maybe they (investors) are happy that Tengku Mahaleel was removed."
Dr M sits in his office at 88th Floor Petronas Twin Tower
smiles in his office
KUALA LUMPUR, July 26:
While he was prime minister for 22 years until his retirement in 2003, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would engage in sarcasm mode and make biting comments when he was upset about something.
Now almost 22 months into retirement, journalists saw a repeat of this yesterday at a Press conference called by Dr Mahathir to comment on the removal of Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff as chief executive officer of Proton.
The onslaught he unleashed was vintage Mahathir — striking, battering and in no uncertain terms making clear his anger, displeasure and disappointment with all whom he blamed for the decision on Mahaleel.
Gambar Semalam
For instance, he said he would not use the word "dismiss" to describe Tengku Mahaleel’s removal from the job, lest he be "sued for libel".
But in the next breath, when asked whether he would stay on as adviser of Proton, his reply was: "Unless I’m dismissed."
His confidence seemed supreme, just as Malaysians saw and heard him before he retired.
Journalists were at the receiving end of Dr Mahathir’s (left) sharp tongue when he was asked whether he believed that "powerful hands" were behind Mahaleel’s removal.
His reply: "That is up to the Press to presume, because the Press is a free Press. They report everything I say verbatim."
The former prime minister’s other comments:
On the removal of Mahaleel as chairman of Proton subsidiaries:
"The chairman of the holding company (Datuk Azlan Hashim) is (now) also chairman of the subsidiaries. This poses some problem because the chairman of the subsidiaries normally reports to the holding company.
"So, it would mean that the chairman is reporting to himself. Of course, this may be ‘best practices’ (as specified by Bursa Malaysia). I wouldn’t know."
On whether Proton Holdings chairman Datuk Azlan Hashim had told him who would replace Mahaleel:
"No name was mentioned. He said something about head-hunting (hiring a company to search for a qualified executive). Maybe he (Azlan) is from Sarawak."
(In the old days, Sarawak’s native Dayaks used to collect and display their enemies’ heads in their longhouses.)
On whether he was satisfied with Rafidah’s reply on the AP issue:
"I will give all the facts plus the letters that I received and the letters that I hid. I will give them in instalments."
(Former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had claimed he had "six boxes" of documents proving corruption in the Government and had hidden them in a safe place. He had then claimed he would release the documents in instalments.)
On Rafidah’s comments at the Umno assembly that she considered Dr Mahathir "a father":
"I regard all the ladies in this country as my daughters. I’m old enough to be their father."
On the sharp rise in Proton shares on news of Mahaleel’s removal:
"Maybe they (investors) are happy that Tengku Mahaleel was removed."
Dr M sits in his office at 88th Floor Petronas Twin Tower
smiles in his office
