Salleh Said Keruak has denied Dr Mahathir Mohamad's claim that the current administration wants to erase his legacy by destroying national car manufacturer Proton.

The communications and multimedia minister said if the allegation is true, numerous other legacies of the former prime minister could have been erased.

"If the government wants to wipe out his legacy, for certain KLCC would have been demolished.

"However, the government now prioritises the people and develops facilities beneficial to the people and not for certain groups like what happened during his (Mahathir's) tenure," Salleh is quoted as saying by the BN Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) portal.

He conceded that Mahathir's role in Proton could not be denied.

On the same note, he reminded the former prime minister that the government provided a loan amounting to RM1.5 billion to the ailing firm in April.

"In fact, the soft loan was given to, among others, help the automotive company pay its vendors," Salleh added.

In a blog posting yesterday, Mahathir accused Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak of wanting to bankrupt Proton and sell it for a song.

"Only imported cars can be sold in Malaysia.

"Let there be nothing that was started by me. Let the local industry be destroyed as long as Najib is satisfied," Mahathir added.

Apart from this, he alleged that those in Proton are disallowed from communicating with him, and businessmen linked to him are not permitted to conduct business with the national car manufacturer

Mahathir resigned as chairperson of Proton in March.