Former minister Rafidah Aziz said tycoon Robert Kuok was such a respectable figure that she had asked the billionaire to talk to her children about ethics.

“Kuok, who I have known personally since the early 1980s, (is) a person with whom I often discussed integrity, honesty and ethics.

“I never saw him in any light other than as a person whose principles and values the young generation should try to emulate. 

"I even got Kuok to talk to my kids when they were younger about ethics," she said in a Facebook posting.

Read more: Even I found Equanimity before, Rafidah says

Rafidah, who headed Wanita Umno for a decade, said the proximity of 14th general election should not be a licence for any party to “divide society” and character assassinate people as “political capital”.

She stressed this in light of the recent attacks from Umno leaders on Robert Kuok stemming from an accusation that the billionaire was funding DAP – which the tycoon had denied.

"Please, this nation is already mired in enough muck arising from the many horrors of the kleptocracy issue.

"There is no need to divert attention from them through disgusting and destructive distraction."

Rafidah said the country's entrepreneurs had invested to add value to the economy and nation.

"The spin-offs from their enterprises have vast multiplier effects across the board.

"The government collects taxes and other dues from them to fill its coffers," she added.