Dr M says it: Meeting with Anwar part of plan to unite Opposition politicians to oust 1MDB PM Najib
So, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad (Dr M) has finally confirmed that his Sept 5, 2016, historic meeting and handshake with Anwar Ibrahim in a court room is more than just about fighting the draconian National Security Council (NSC) Act.
In a recent interview with Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Dr M said his meeting and handshake with jailed Malaysian de facto Opposition leader Anwar was also part of a plan to create a coalition of Opposition politicians capable of ousting 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) Prime Minister Najib Razak in the next general election (GE).
Malaysia’s next GE, the 14th edition in electoral history, is only due in March 2018. But Najib is widely expected to call for a snap GE14 to take advantage of a critically fractured Opposition.
No News Is Bad News reproduces below the WSJ report for the convenient reading of visitors and readers:
"Prime Ministers Shouldn’t Be Finance Ministers, Says Malaysia’s Mahathir
Separating these roles would avoid a repeat of 1MDB financial scandal
 |
| Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad during his visit to London in September 2016. PHOTO: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL |
Sept. 22, 2016 12:08 p.m. ET
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said the roles of prime minister and finance minister should be separated to avoid a repeat of the financial scandal surrounding the state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd., known as 1MDB.
Najib Razak, the current prime minister of Malaysia, has also been the finance minister since September 2008. In July, the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit seeking to seize assets that it said were bought with $3.5 billion misappropriated from 1MDB. The fund was set up by Mr. Najib in 2009 to promote economic growth. The Malaysian Finance Ministry wholly owns 1MDB. The lawsuit doesn’t name Mr. Najib, but a person with direct knowledge of the investigation has said the “Malaysian Official 1” in the complaint is Mr. Najib.
“Prime ministers should not be the minister of finance,” Dr. Mahathir said at a lecture in London on Wednesday evening. “We should put a bar to the prime minister becoming the minister of finance.”
The 91-year-old acknowledged that he had also been the finance minister for a period during his 22-year premiership, which ended in 2003. Dr. Mahathir is a vocal critic of Mr. Najib, who he once supported.
“He was the son of a beloved prime minister of Malaysia, one who had done a great deal for Malaysia, so we expected him to do the same,” Dr. Mahathir said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
Dr. Mahathir said in the interview that he met earlier in September with jailed Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as part of a plan to create a coalition of opposition politicians capable of ousting Mr. Najib in the next election. Dr. Mahathir said the 1MDB scandal was negatively affecting the Malaysian economy by weakening the currency and increasing the national debt burden. 1MDB has denied wrongdoing.
“The solution to the problems in Malaysia is through the removal of the prime minister,” Dr. Mahathir said. “This man has abused his position and has lost billions of dollars.”
Mr. Najib has denied wrongdoing. His spokesman said in a statement on Tuesday that Dr. Mahathir has for two years “waged a campaign to unseat a democratically-elected government.” The Malaysian attorney general has cleared Mr. Najib of any crime.
Malaysia’s Corruption Scandal
The U.S. Justice Department complaint described how money seemingly placed in several investments and deposits by 1MDB was instead allegedly sent on to several people involved with 1MDB through a maze of offshore companies and accounts. Among the Justice Department’s assertions were that some $1 billion originating with 1MDB was plowed into hotels; luxury real estate in Manhattan, Beverly Hills and London; fine art; a private jet; and the 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Dr. Mahathir said he supports the actions of the U.S. Justice Department and 1MDB investigators in other countries such as Switzerland. 1MDB has said it would cooperate with any lawful international investigation.
“It is about taking action against people who break the laws of those countries,” he said. “That I think is legitimate.” — Celine Fernandez in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this article."
No comments:
Post a Comment