DAP has ridiculed Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin’s claim that the government did not incur losses over the hushed out-of-court settlement between Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Berhad and former Malaysia Airlines chief Tajudin Ramli as “unbelievable”.

DAP Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said Khairy’s assertion “lacked credibility”, given the “clandestine” approach by the government in resolving the six-year dispute over RM589.14 million that Tajudin had owed the national asset management firm.

NONE Adding to this, he said, was the refusal of any minister to “confirm or deny the claim that Danaharta had in fact written off all of Tajudin’s debt”.

Khairy (right), during a recent debate against PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli on issues of higher education, had said his source suggests Tajudin might have ended up paying more than the amount owed.

Pua said, “Rafizi has rightly sniped that Khairy seems to be answering ‘as if he is Tajudin's lawyer’ when even cabinet ministers were unable and unwilling to provide straight answers.

He called on the finance minister Najib Razak to confirm if Khairy was telling the truth over the matter since any clarification had been elusive.

najib and tajudin ramli and mas and money “This is especially since it is the first time a BN politician has claimed that Tajudin paid part or all of his outstanding debt as part of the settlement exercise,” said Pua.

 

“If not, it will only prove that there is a conspiracy to cover up the fact that Danaharta has in effect written off the debt in order to protect BN’s long-time cronies. 

“It will be clear that under Najib’s administration, the cronies’ interests will be protected at all cost, at the expense of ordinary Malaysians,” he added.

In December 2009 the High Court ordered Tajudin to pay Danaharta and its two subsidiaries the full amount outstanding to them, with interest.

The court had also dismissed Tajudin’s counterclaim of over RM14 billion excluding damages and cost.

Last August however, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Nazri Aziz issued a controversial letter to GLCs “suggesting” all withdraw their suits against Tajudin.