Pak Lah doesn't want quarrel with Dr M

Merely 48 hours has passed since Khairy Jamaluddin openly defended himself against criticisms by former premier Tun Mahathir Mohamad.

Today, following closely, Prime Minister and Khairy's father-in-law Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said his piece about the allegations of nepotism which is said to have financially benefited both Khairy and Abdullah's son Kamaluddin.

These are some excerpts of Abdullah's defence of his Mr Clean reputation:


On Mahathir:

"I don't want to quarrel with Tun Mahathir... My style is different from Tun Mahathir... But I've never deviated from my long-term goal. I know where I am going."

On Khairy:

"He bought shares to become a partner in ECM Libra...I knew he took a loan for that purpose. There is no proof that he seized government projects."

On Kamaluddin:

"Kamal' has never abused his ties with me. Eighty percent of his business is from overseas. He is not involved with other local firms or government concessions. He has never asked help from the government or anything that required a bail-out for him."

I just knew this was coming. The next move from Abdullah's camp is perhaps a media spin and a charming campaign. Is he sure he does not want to quarrel with Dr M? For me it looks as though the gloves are off.