Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he has no problems with his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad who has been flaying his government over some of its decisions.

According to the prime minister, he did not harbour any ill-feelings towards Mahathir who named Abdullah as his successor and handed over the reins in 2003.

"Why should I have any ill-feeling towards anybody?" Abdullah was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Making his first public comments on the rift with his former mentor, Abdullah said that he had felt hurt at the criticism, but he overcame it quickly.

When he was in Tokyo recently, Abdullah said, he was the one who made the effort to meet Mahathir in the latter's room after being informed that his ex-boss also stayed at the same hotel.

Abdullah said he contacted an officer of Mahathir to enquire whether the former prime minister had the time for them to meet.

"I did not ask him to come and see me. I went to meet him. As a gesture of friendship, just to exchange greetings," he added.

Mahathir had criticised Abdullah and his administration on, among other things, the decision by the government to scrap the project to build a half-bridge to replace the Johor Causeway, and even mentioned that Abdullah was not his first choice as successor.

Different perceptions

Asked whether he would sit down with Mahathir in sorting out their differences, Abdullah said: "I have been doing this. I don't think it is a problem."

Commenting on a proposed mediator to help resolve their differences, he said that was not a decision of the party and government.

"It is a personal initiative (by Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin) and the government does not obstruct any efforts with good intentions," he added.

On Mahathir's statement that the government must rectify its mistakes, Abdullah said the government has already done this.

"The government has its own perception. We have information. Our wisdom cannot be the same as that of an individual's because we look at it from a wide and holistic viewpoint. We make the best decision based on the situation and time," he added.

Abdullah said times change and so do the demands of the people. Things that were not a problem before have become a problem now, such as the increase in fuel prices and the shortage in sugar supply.

"When a decision is made, we know the people's reaction. If the people do not like it, then it is bad for us. If we do not think about the people's interest we will be punished in the next elections," he added.

Sufficient explanations

Asked if he had any agreements with Mahathir to continue the latter's administrative policies, Abdullah said the Barisan Nasional government is based on the 'continuity of policies' from the time of Tunku Abdul Rahman till today.

"The aim of the policies remains the same, only the approach has changed," he said.

Responding to another question, Abdullah said the government has provided sufficient explanations to the issues raised by Mahathir.

He also ruled out the possibility of more classified documents being made public for the time being.

Asked if documents pertaining to national car manufacturer Proton will be declassified, he said it is up to Proton to explain the issues related to the company.

Mahathir had also questioned certain decisions made by Proton as well as the issuance of Approved Permits.