Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's criticism of the Maju Expressway (MEX) highway concession sale is full of "hypocrisy and self righteousness".

NONE In a statement today, the DAP’s national publicity secretary MP Tony Pua ( left ) described Mahathir's argument as “twisted”.

“(He was the one) who awarded this lopsided agreement to Abu Sahid Mohamed in 1997 and subsequently revised the agreement and terms of the concession in 2003 prior to his retirement,” Pua pointed out.

"Hence it is extremely rich coming from our former prime minister, to chastise Abu Sahid for making astronomical profits from the government concession when it was in fact Mahathir who gave it to the businessman on a silver platter.”    

NONE MEX is a 26km highway linking Kuala Lumpur with the administrative capital of Putrajaya. It was commissioned during the Mahathir administration.

Abu Sahid could net over a billion ringgit from the sale to EP Manufacturing Bhd, or a 1,800 percent return on his RM60 million initial investment in the project.

The tycoon stands to pocket more than seven times the amount of money than he would have received if he had kept and operated the project over the 25-year concession period.

Pua also said Mahathir himself had given away "what was not his" when his administration awarded Abu Sahid almost a billion ringgit in a government grant - public funds that the tycoon will not have to repay.