KUALA LUMPUR - Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has warned that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's appointment as Selangor's economic adviser would bring financial ruin to the state.

He said Anwar, who had served as his deputy and also finance minister, had worsened the country's economic position by adopting International Monetary Fund (IMF) policies without involving the IMF during the late 1990's Asian financial crisis.

"This is a fantastic economic advisor because he almost brought Malaysia down to its knees during the financial crisis," he quipped in his trademark sarcasm to reporters after giving a special lecture for Universiti Malaya's Asia-Europe Eminent Persons Lecture Series yesterday.

Dr Mahathir maintained that the PKR adviser did not know how to manage the economy and would bankrupt the Selangor state coffers if he continued to be the adviser.

"If you want to bankrupt Selangor, I think that's the best adviser. Of course, if you pay him one ringgit, you get one ringgit's worth," he said when commenting on Anwar being named the Selangor government's economic advisor by Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim last week.

Dr Mahathir also said democracy would hinder the progress of a country if there was too much politicking without enough focus on developing itself.

"Most people don't understand democracy. When you lose in an election, you have to accept it and support the winner. It's not that democracy is bad. It's just that people don't understand the limits of democracy," he said.

-The Star/Asia News Network