PUTRAJAYA, Sept 30- Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has shrugged off a report by The Economist that his son, Datuk Mukhriz would be a threat to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib if he were to win the Umno vice-presidency in the upcoming party polls.
Dr Mahathir said the London-based financial magazine had nothing good to say about anybody.
“In Malaysia, we (politicians) do not practice a vile culture, that is to remove anybody,” he told reporters after attending the Perdana Leadership Foundation’s Open Day here Sunday.
The Economist, in an editorial piece, said if Mukhriz, who is Kedah menteri besar, were to win, the anti-Najib forces could coalesce around him as a proxy for his father and a weakened prime minister could then be ousted in an internal putsch.
On Member of Parliament for Gua Musang Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s statement that the government should review its agreements with Sabah and Sarawak to protect their interests after having joined Malaysia, Dr Mahathir said, : “The government is managing the affair.”
He declined to elaborate.
Earlier, Dr Mahathir and his wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali read books to children at the foundation’s library and took a tour of the open day exhibition.
Dr Mahathir later gave away prizes to winners of the third Putrajaya Fishing Circuit organised by Putrajaya Corporation in conjunction with the Merdeka Day and the Malaysia Day at the Presint 8 Lake here.
Nik Nazriariffin Nik Hassan, 34, walked away with RM7,000 cash after he was adjudged the winner after landing a tenggalan (freshwater fish) weighing 3.1kg.
The first runner-up was Mohd Akmal Hashim, 26, won RM5,000 and the second runner-up, Rosli Chik Mat, 45, (RM3,000).
Present was Putrajaya Corporation president Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat.
– BERNAMA
