I have the greatest respect for Dr M, says Lim Kok Wing

Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing declares his respect for former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Twitter.

The Prime Minister's Office latest public relations team recruit, Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing, said he had only the greatest respect and admiration for Malaysia's longest serving prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, after the latter wrote a blog post about the advertising man's advice to stop criticising Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Lim, whose LimKokWing University of Creative Technology is a global brand name, declared his respect for Dr Mahathir in a tweet, and appeared to be in in response to the retired statement's blog post two days ago.

Dr Mahathir had chided Lim for asking him to stop attacking the current prime minister, Najib, over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.

"I've absolutely the greatest respect n admiration for Tun Mahathir. Everyone who knows me knows this to be the absolute truth @chedet_cc," Lim tweeted on June 5, the same day as Dr Mahathir's blog post.

The former prime minister had written the entry after being stopped from speaking at a forum on 1MDB, titled "Nothing to Hide" at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

He wrote that he had been advised by a "friend" who was recently appointed as PR strategist to the prime minister, not to attack Najib over 1MDB.

But Dr Mahathir said that in the past, this friend, had expressed concern about the policies and performance of the Najib administration and had urged him (Dr Mahathir) to do something about it.

However, he added that during a recent visit by this friend, the person appeared to have changed and urged him not to attack the prime minister instead.

Dr Mahathir wrote that this person, who is now installed at the Prime Minister's Office, was working hard to cover the wrongdoings in 1MDB.

Lim has since tweeted further but it is unclear who he is referring to:

"There are too many wrong assumptions and conclusions, far too many unkind, unreasonable personal attacks. Time will tell. Truth will prevail," he said in one tweet.

The Malaysian Insider reported on May 22 that Lim, who has run Barisan Nasional's election campaigns, was made Najib's new public campaign coordinator in a charm offensive to win over Malaysians and shore up the prime minister's flagging popularity.

Lim rode high during Dr Mahathir's administration, but the former prime minister is now Najib's harshest critic.

Lim, who founded the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, will report directly to the Prime Minister's Office which already has a string of advisers.

The 69-year-old, who set up Malaysia's first local advertising agency, has been involved in election campaigns for almost four decades.

In 1994, Lim, on recommendation by Dr Mahathir, was tasked by the late Nelson Mandela in South Africa's first free elections, giving his African National Congress the slogan, "A better life for all".

Criticism has been mounting over 1MDB, the Finance Ministry's wholly owned investment vehicle, established in 2009, which has chalked up debts of up to RM42 billion, backed by Putrajaya.

- TMI