Billion Dollar Whale author Tom Wright says he has no personal problems with the involvement of Malaysian actor Michelle Yeoh in co-producing a movie based on the book.

“If you show me that Yeoh has done something illegal, then I would be worried. But no one has shown me that," he said during a dialogue session in conjunction with The Cooler Lumpur festival  in Kuala Lumpur today.

Wright also noted that much of the criticisms surrounding Yeoh's involvement was mostly due to her previous open support for BN during the 13th general election.

“She supported BN in the past election because her family were MCA politicians, and lots of people were supporting BN in 2013, even Mahathir,” he said.

"I’m not involved in Malaysia, I don’t follow the politics. I don’t have a skin in the game, so I don’t have a problem with this," he said.

In writing the book, Wright said he and co-author Bradley Hope had no plans to turn it into a movie, but added that they chose to include more scenes and descriptions in order to make the book more readable.

At the same time, he said there were discussions held with several other producers, but a final decision was made to sign a deal with Crazy Rich Asians producers Ivanhoe Pictures.

"They (Ivanhoe) did such a good job with Crazy Rich Asians, and they just signed a co-production deal with Yeoh," he said.

News of Yeoh's involvement in the Billion Dollar Whale movie deal drew criticism from several quarters due to the actress' support for former premier Najib Abdul Razak in the past.

“I hope from the bottom of my heart that he will remain as the prime minister and I ask all of you to give him a strong mandate," she reportedly said in 2013.

Yeoh even praised Najib and the previous administration's efforts to help Rohingya refugees in January this year.

Najib is currently facing multiple charges pertaining to the 1MDB scandal.

Cynthia Gabriel, the head of the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism, had described Yeoh as a "cheap opportunist", while cartoonist Zunar described her as one who “supports a friend when he is in power, and steps on him when he has fallen". 

Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown, meanwhile, criticised the book's authors for inking a deal with Yeoh to produce a movie on the 1MDB scandal. 

Ivanhoe's Crazy Rich Asians, starring Yeoh and set in Singapore, has grossed millions worldwide since its release in cinemas last month and is touted as one of the highest-grossing romantic comedies of all time.

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