Tun, when are you going after your own ‘big boys’?
Following is an article published by NST Online complete with responses by TTF (in blue and red):
KUALA LUMPUR: The government will go after the ‘big boys’ under the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government for corruption with concrete evidence that will stand in court.
TTF: Ok, but when are you planning to go after your own ‘big boys’, including Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was alleged to have been among the most corrupt of Chief Ministers during his nine-year stint as Johor Menteri Besar from 1986 to 1995?
And while we’re on the topic, when do you plan to commence investigations into the many corruption scandals you yourself are said to have been involved with?
Tell me, who’s going to account for all the billions that Lim Kit Siang repeatedly insisted in Parliament were either lost or went unaccounted for under your watch during the eighties and the nineties?
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad speaking at a press conference, said there are many people involved, but they have to concentrate on a few first as they are short handed, when asked if more people under the previous government will be charged soon.
He added the government could not deal with so many corrupt people at one time.
“At the moment, we will go after the ‘big boys’ and gather enough evidence so that it can stand up in court and action can be taken against them,” he said.
TTF: Agreed
Dr Mahathir was speaking to reporters after presenting a keynote speech at the 2018 Anti Corruption Summit themed “Good Governance and Integrity for Sustainable Business Growth” organised by Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) and Aram Global Sdn Bhd.
Also present were TI-M president Dato Akhbar Satar and adviser of Aram Global Mohd Shah Hashim.
Seen at the summit was former PetroSaudi International Ltd employee turned whistleblower Xavier Andre Justo who is a panelist on the topic of the battle against ill-gotten money.
Justo, a Swiss national, was previously accused of sharing information on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) with Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir also highlighted that in the six months after Pakatan Harapan became the government, “there is no widespread of corruption cases reported in the media, unlike when the previous government was in power.”
“Under the previous government, almost everyday we see news reports of corruption including in blogs. Now, we don’t see anybody accusing the present government of corruption,” he added.
TTF: Findings on our side indicate that there is some level of political chicanery at play to conceal the manoeuvrings by members of the broader government administration to stylise data and misappropriate funds.
For instance, we’ve been told of fund allocations being quietly misappropriated by certain DAP insiders for purposes other than those the funds were originally meant for.
We’re in the midst of verifying the legitimacy of these claims and will only lodge police reports once we’re sure that the information we received can hold in the court of law.
All in all, the previous administration was far more transparent than this one can ever claim to be.
For instance, the Najib administration allowed members of the public to view the shareholdings of all registered business entities in Malaysia through the RoC’s online document purchasing system.
The minute Pakatan came into power, it blacked out the entire system, meaning, we no longer are able to monitor share swapping deals or be alerted of wheeling and dealing that could well be going on between stakeholders in government linked entities.
You call that transparency?
When told that former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had claimed that the government is seeking revenge against him and that the money he received was a donation from Saudi Arabia, Dr Mahathir said his predecessor can say what he wants.
“What else can he say… If you believe him you are welcomed to believe.. there must be enough evidence for him to be charged,” Dr Mahathir said, pointing out that Saudi Arabia has come forward to say they did not give the money.
TTF: On the 27th of October 2018, I wrote:
A well placed source from within the corridors of power told TTF an hour ago that the RM2.6 billion affair was never “discussed between (Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato’) Saifuddin Abdullah and (Saudi Foreign Minister) Adel (Al-Jubeir) in any length that qualifies it to be a discussion.”
This implies that Saifuddin never seized the opportunity to discuss the RM2.6 billion issue in any detail despite it being a pivotal factor that led to Barisan Nasional’s downfall.
Tell me, isn’t it strange that the Government of Malaysia (GoM) should make no effort whatsoever to hash the issue out with Saudi Arabia despite it being a matter of utmost importance as claimed by Pakatan Harapan prior to the 14th general election?
So who are you trying to kid here, Mahathir?
He stressed that currently, the government is in the process of reshaping and carrying out reforms, including the country’s financial positioning and reducing borrowings.
TTF: Good
On a separate matter, Dr Mahathir said he could not name the company who had tried to donate RM100 million to Tabung Harapan Malaysia.
“”We felt that, it was a problem as the company tried to influence the government… so we rejected the donation.”
TTF: Considering that Tabung Harapan Malaysia is meant to assist the Pakatan Harapan government in administering the country, the Government of Malaysia (GoM) should consider publishing its accounts on a monthly basis and list down the names of all donors and amounts donated in the spirit of Competency, Accountability and Transparency (CAT).
Apart from that, Dr Mahathir also said many foreign investors are beginning to return and invest in Malaysia.
“Previously, many investors refuse to invest. Now, we don’t have anyone asking for a 30% share or bribe for approvals.”
TTF: This is a lie.
Malaysia lost roughly RM12 billion in foreign capital outflow since Pakatan took over as federal government.
On the 6th of August 2018, Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Ong Kian Ming admitted that a further RM16.4 million was lost through the withdrawal of three foreign direct investment projects from the country.
These investors bolted due to the stylising of economic data by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Ministry of Finance.
For instance, on the 24th of May 2018,Malaysia’s highest paid Member of Parliament, Lim Guan Eng, falsely alleged that the country’s debt was over RM1 trillion and that the national debt-to-gdp ratio had surpassed the 80% mark.
Not only were these very badly concocted fantasies, a report by Moody’s quickly rubbished the claim by putting our Debt-to-GDP ratio at a healthy 50.8%, meaning, Najib left Mahathir with a very vibrant economy.
As a matter of fact, the ratio had never once exceeded the 55% mark under Najib but way surpassed the 80% mark under Mahathir in the nineties.
By lying about the country’s circumstances, the Prime Minister deliberately plunged prices of shares in key government-linked companies to allow his cronies to snap up stock left behind by frightened investors at dirt cheap prices.
It was a ‘forced’ rationalisation exercise of sorts, really.
Earlier in his keynote address, Dr Mahathir said it is important for the people to know and realise that corruption is a crime.
TTF: Correct.
All crimes must be investigated thoroughly, especially those having to do with national funds that were either siphoned out of the country or cannot be accounted for altogether.
It follows, that you yourself ought to be under the microscope to see if there is any possibility of us retrieving funds that may have been misappropriated by your good self back in the eighties and nineties.
“If the Prime Minister is involved in corruption, the rest will follow suit. There will be no attempts to combat corruption,” he said, adding this would also affect government machinery and was something that had to be addressed.
“I would like to tell you that, we are no longer known as a kleptocracy or government of thieves,” Dr Mahathir said, in ensuring that the new government would fight against corruption.
TTF: That is left to be seen.
Like I said, we’ve been told of certain fund allocations being quietly misappropriated by certain DAP insiders for purposes other than those the funds were originally meant for.
We’re in the midst of verifying the legitimacy of these claims and will only lodge police reports once we’re sure that the information we received can hold in the court of law.
While admitting that it is not possible to completely eradicate corruption, the prime minister vouched to control or reduce it to a minimum.
He reiterated that corruption can only be successfully curbed if top government leaders – from the Prime Minister to Ministers and elected representatives – are truly free from corrupt practices.
Source: NST Online
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