“I’m focused on the general election,” the former Kedah menteri besar told FMT in an interview.
Mukhriz said the challenge by Azrin Zizal, who now heads the Southeast Asia division of SCL Group, the parent company of CA, was merely a red herring.
Adding that he had no qualms if the matter was raised during the election campaign period, the Ayer Hitam assemblyman said he in fact welcomed such a move from his political rivals.
“It will only show how disconnected they are from the sufferings of the people,” he said, adding that this included issues related to the cost of living and the goods and services tax (GST).
Last week, Azrin challenged Mukhriz to take him to court to prove that he had been lying when he alleged that Mukhriz benefitted from CA’s services in the last election.
“Who is En Azrin Zizal compared to Yang Berhormat Datuk Seri Mukhriz bin Tun Dr Mahathir? I am a nobody compared to him, a millionaire from a distinguished lineage.
“If he feels challenged by a nobody calling him out on his lies, then he can easily afford to hire the best lawyers to institute proceedings,” FMT had reported Azrin as saying.
The spat between the two began after Barisan Nasional (BN) distanced itself from CA, following a claim that it had hired the company to help its campaign to wrest Kedah from PAS in the last polls.
BN has denied hiring CA, while Mukhriz rejected the claim, adding that Azrin was “absolutely delusional” for saying he had helped BN sweep to victory in Kedah.
When asked on Azrin’s insistence that he was lying, Mukhriz said CA itself had admitted to deceit.
Political consultant CA made global headlines after it was accused of extracting data belonging to 50 million Facebook users without consent, in the campaign to help Donald Trump win the US presidential election last year.
On its website, the company said it had also conducted operations in Malaysia, including helping BN win in Kedah with a “targeted messaging campaign”.
CA has since denied all allegations, saying it was humouring the undercover reporters and trying to gauge their motives by actively encouraging them “to tease out any unethical or illegal intentions”.
“So who do you want to believe? Someone who is known to lie or me, who has declared that I have no links to SCL Group or Cambridge Analytica?” Mukhriz asked.