Dr Mahathir also sought and received help from Arab countries - Salleh

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad also sought and received help from Arab countries during his tenure, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak.

As such, he said to say that Dr Mahathir never sought and received help from the Arabs, was not true.

"In fact, Dr Mahathir not only sought help from the Arab countries but also received help from a number of Arab countries," he said in his latest post on his blog.

Mohd Salleh said over 30 years ago, when Dr Mahathir wanted to set up the International Islamic University, it was estimated that it would have cost the government at least RM1 billion or so, especially to develop the campus on the 700-acre (283.3 hectare) site in Gombak.

"Taking into consideration the inflation factor, what was worth RM1 billion back in 1983 would be worth many more times that today.

"Therefore, if we want to do exactly the same thing today, what would cost RM1 billion in 1983 would cost tens of billions today," he added.

He said to finance what could be regarded as a huge project then in 1983, Dr Mahathir sought the financial support of Middle East countries and eight countries from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), now known as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which agreed to sponsor the setting up of the university.