Kit Siang’s U-turn comes from ‘selfish motives’
KUALA LUMPUR: DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang’s dramatic “Uturn” on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) foreign exchange losses in the 1990s stem from selfish political motives.
Selangor Umno secretary Datuk Johan Abdul Aziz said Lim should support the RCI report as he had been vocal in demanding that the commission be formed.
He said Lim now kept quiet about the matter and denied what he said in the past as it would be against his interest.
“This is the true face of the opposition, which will justify anything for political interest.
“But this is no surprise as Lim and other opposition leaders have always behaved like that.
“Furthermore, Lim is now conspiring with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim,” he said yesterday.
Lim had recently alleged that the RCI was formed to persecute Dr Mahathir and Anwar. He said the BNM forex scandal did not bring Malaysia international infamy and ignominy, unlike the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) issue.
In a statement, he said the RCI had not found any element of corruption or personal gain in the forex losses, which was “a completely different story” from 1MDB.
These statements were unlike Li m’ s stand in 1994, when he raised the matter in Parliament and said there was a need to set up an RCI. This was a year after news spread about the billions of ringgit in forex losses.
Lim raised the matter in Parliament again in 2006, and demanded that an RCI be formed to investigate. He also provided detailed facts on the losses.
The RCI, in its 524-page report tabled in Parliament last Thursday, stated that Anwar, who was then finance minister, had misled the government and concealed the actual losses.
The commission said Dr Mahathir had approved Anwar’s “misleading statements”.
RCI secretary Datuk Dr Yusof Ismail, who is the Finance Ministry’s Strategic Investment Division director, had lodged a police report on the same day calling for a probe to determine if there was criminal breach of trust, fraud and cheating linked to the losses.
An exposé by the New Straits Times in January quoted former BNM assistant governor Datuk Abdul Murad Khalid as saying that the central bank suffered US$10 billion (RM40.6 billion) in forex losses in the 1990s.
The RCI was set up following a cabinet meeting soon after NST’s exposé.