Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants the author behind a purported letter who had pledged millions to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to answer pertinent questions in relation to the ‘donation’.
Mahathir, in his blog post today, said the letter-writer must answer questions regarding his source of wealth, his bank, as well as the manner of his transfer of huge sums to Najib’s private account.
The former prime minister also pointed out how there is a discrepancy between the date on the letter and the time when the public found out about and questioned the money in the private accounts of Najib last year.
Mahathir said the letter - dated Nov 1, 2011 - had answered all the questions which were only asked last year after the Wall Street Journal exposed the US$681 million in Najib’s personal accounts.
“This letter which is supposed to prove that the money is a gift, is full of inconsistencies with regard to dates, amounts of money and frequency of disbursement.
“It is as if the writer, purported to be ‘HRH Prince Saudi Abdulaziz Al-Saud’, knew in 2011 that in 2015 the existences of the ‘gifts’ would be discovered, exposed and explanations would be required. It is an amazing case of prescience,” said Mahathir.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation ( ABC ) had published the letter from Abdulaziz to Najib last Tuesday.
In the letter, the prince pledged US$375 million for the prime minister, stating that he could do as he pleased with the gift.
'Show whole ABC programme'
Meanwhile, in his trademark sarcasm, Mahathir said the broadcast of the one-hour episode by ABC will “clear everything”.
Citing reports stating that the ABC broadcast had confirmed the funds were a gift which was to be used as the prime minister saw fit, Mahathir admitted that this was “good news” indeed.
“Now the government television must broadcast the ABC news so that all the people will know how right Najib is.
“But don’t just broadcast only a part out of context. Show the whole ABC broadcast to prove Najib’s innocence,” he quipped.
“Only then will the people be reassured. Be truthful and establish that Najib only speaks the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
Pointing out how the former task force, which was set up to lead investigations into the RM2.6 billion donation has been ‘emasculated’, Mahathir said a proper neutral commission must now be established to investigate the donation from where the previous task force was stopped from finishing their work.
“Mere statements from the government, in particular by the discredited politicians, are not convincing as far as the public is concerned,” he said.
Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali had cleared Najib of any wrongdoing in the donation scandal in January while Najib has likewise consistently denied any wrongdoing in the issue.
Salleh strikes back
Meanwhile, Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak ticked off Mahathir for suddenly taking ABC's report as "truth" despite being critical of the broadcaster when it criticised him as prime minister.
"This is the same ABC that about 16 years or so ago produced a special report regarding Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial.
"It was actually a very well done documentary and it managed to raise many prudent questions regarding whether Anwar was a victim of a sham trial and was convicted based on fabricated evidence and false testimonies.
"Of course, at that time Mahathir did not agree that the special report on Anwar’s ‘sham trial’ should be aired on Malaysian TV," he said in a blog posting today.
Likewise, Salleh said ABC had also produced a documentary critical of Anwar which was denounced by the opposition, which is now hailing ABC 's report on Najib.
"Later, ABC produced another documentary regarding Anwar and his party, PKR, and alleged that they were being financed by the same Arab sources that were implicated in financing the group involved in the 911 attacks.
"They also reported the FBI raids and confiscation of documents and so on.
"Again, the opposition called this documentary a pack of lies and said that ABC had an agenda and was being paid to smear Anwar’s and PKR's name and reputation," he said.
Salleh questioned the inconsistencies by Mahathir and the opposition.
"When ABC reports about Mahathir, Anwar, the opposition, etc, they are lies.
"However, when ABC reports about Najib they are telling the truth. Is this what Mahathir is trying to say?" he asked.
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