Pioneering Malaysian advertising icon and founder of the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (LUCT) Lim Kok Wing has resigned from his position as Prime Minister Najib Razak’s public campaign coordinator, scarcely two months after taking up the post.
The Malaysian Insider quotes a source close to the matter as saying Lim tendered his resignation in early July.
Lim’s resignation came as almost a big a surprise as his appointment, as he was widely regarded as a close associate of former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has recently become Najib’s primary detractor, to the point of openly calling for Najib’s removal from public office.
The LUCT founder has been heavily involved in Barisan Nasional election campaigns, formulating branding solutions and marketing taglines for the political coalition.
Lim was offered the task of rebranding Najib’s public image in the wake of increasingly negative perception of the PM, as numerous questions and allegations linger in connection to possible mismanagement and outright criminal activity within 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the sovereign development fund wholly owned by Najib’s Finance Ministry. Public perception has also cast a skeptical eye on the source of Najib’s supposedly vast personal wealth.
Lim was joined in his advisory duties were the likes of former Information, Culture and Communication Minister Rais Yatim and former Minister for Women, Family and Community Development Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
Previously, Dr Mahathir took a pointed shot at Lim in his personal blog, referring to him as a “former friend” who once urged the former PM to rein in Najib’s more questionable executive decisions, but who changed his tune after coming under the direct employ of the current Prime Minister.
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