Media statement by Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, 29^th February 2012: 

Does Mahathir also want a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the losses from the financial scandals during Tun Abdullah's five year premiership?

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahahtir Mohamad seems to have given a “positive” response to my proposal for a full audit and accounting into the RM100 billion “black hole” caused by the losses of the financial scandals his his 22-year premiership.

I had said on Saturday that the time has come to revisit the RM100 billion “losses” suffered by the country during his 22-year premiership, especially if the present generation of Malaysians are still to pay for the “sins of Mahathir's past premiership”.

This came about as a result of the RM580 million write-off by the Malaysian government with the “out-of-court” settlement between Danaharta and Tajudin Ramli on Feb. 14, the terms of which remain confidential between the two parties, where all suits pertaining to the court judgement of RM589.14 million that Tajudin was ordered to pay to Danaharta in 2009 would be dropped and Tajudin agreed to withdraw claims totally RM13.46 billion, involved in 27 appeals, 11 against Danaharta.

Core to Tajudin's case is his affidavit that he was directed by former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir and former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainudin in 1994 to buy a controlling stake in MAS to bail out the government – a “national service” to help bail out Bank Negara after the central bank suffered massive foreign exchange losses due partly to speculation in foreign currency markets with an "Overriding Agreement" to indemnify him against any losses suffered.

A Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM100 billion “black hole” caused by the losses of the financial scandals during Mahathir's 22-year premiership will seek the the truth whether the MAS “double bail-outs” were triggered by the RM30 billion 1992/3 Bank Negara forex scandal as well as the truth about the rest of the catalogue of financial scandals in the Mahathir era, “a few were of an order of magnitude that could have bankrupted most developing countries”.

However Mahathir wants “all Tuns” and “their sons and grandsons as well” to be investigated. I will endorse Mahathir's further defining the scope and extent of the investigation into the RM100 billion losses caused by the financial scandals when he was Prime Minister.

The other Tun I can think of is Tun Daim Zainuddin, who was Mahathir's Finance Minister twice and played key role in many of the financial scandals in the Mahathir era.

Are there any other Tuns who should be investigated in the full audit and accounting into the losses caused by the financial scandals in Mahathir's era?

From media reports, it would appear that one other Tun that Mahathir is referring to who should be investigated is his successor, Tun Abdullah.

It is for Mahathir to make clear whether he also wants a full audit and accounting into the losses caused by the financial losses which occur during Abdullah's five-year premiership.

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary Leader & MP for Ipoh Timor