DEMONISING

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on February 04, 2015

1. I am surprised at the report in The Star that some bloggers are attacking the critics of 1MDB. I am surprised not at the bloggers doing this. I have known about their activities for some time now.

2. These bloggers were once the critics of the Government. But for some greatly unknown reason they have changed. I had noticed this change.

3. But I accept their right to criticise me. I am therefore not surprised at their change of direction.

4. What surprises me is the report on this by The Star. Usually the mainstream media, and The Star is also one of them, would not report anything that may reflect badly on the “authorities”. But it has done the unthinkable now, although obliquely.

5. I am a supporter of UMNO. I am still a member of UMNO. But I believe in criticising any wrong thing done by anyone, UMNO included. However, I have openly stated I do not support Dato Seri Najib.

6. And one of the many reasons why I don’t support is the creation of 1MDB. Borrowed money cannot be regarded as wealth. And there are many things done with 1MDB money that are just plain wrong. Government should not be indulging in buying and selling shares to make money for itself.

7. I disagree with the 1MDB and I will continue to criticise it and anything that I think is detrimental to the good governance of this country.

8. The demonising by the bloggers is political. The intention is to undermine my credibility. But I will continue to ask where is the money which has been brought back from Cayman (Island)? Why is there a need to borrow money to pay debts when you have RM8 billion? Until these and other questions are answered the questions will keep coming.

9. I suspect that because questions cannot be answered, resort is made to demonise the questioner. Doing this simply add to the suspicion that all is not well with 1MDB.

10. This is my opinion. I don’t speak for anybody else.

WEALTH AUDIT

As posted by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Che Det on January 29, 2015

1. We were poor before. In those days we talked of millions of Ringgit. Now we are much richer and we talk of billions of Ringgit. It is difficult to comprehend what billions of Ringgit mean. Even when a few millions are lost we hardly notice it.

2. I read in the paper someone suggesting that Government should have an external auditor so that there would be more credibility in the eyes of the public.

3. I think it is a good idea. But it should be extended to other Government agencies, including those which are not governed by Government General orders or Salary Scheme.

4. This need is urgent now because with Malaysia’s greater wealth large sums of money are being expended and managed by both the Government and the agencies. We see entities such as Felda, EPF, Tabung Haji spending billions in acquiring foreign properties while others such as MAHB and Petronas have bought shares in airports and Canadian ventures also involving huge sums of money.

5. Of course their accounts have been made public but there are many things that the public would like to know.

6. An outside audit by a good auditing firm appointed by an independent body not connected with the companies to be audited would help allay the suspicions and worries of the public. The audit firms should be beholden only to the independent body as well as be paid by them. Government and its agencies should have no say at all.

7. The public should be allowed to testify or at least to give information on anything they may know about the accounts being audited. While there should be transparency, in some cases the identities of the informants should not be revealed.

8. With a proper audit by reputable auditors the cleanliness of the management of public funds should be established. The Government’s name would be cleared.