Communications and Multimedia Minister Dr Salleh Said Keruak today told the opposition Pakatan Harapan not to politicise the decision to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to determine the truth behind the foreign exchange losses suffered by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in the 1980s and 1990s.

He said the cabinet decision to establish the RCI was made without any malicious or political intent, and that the RCI was a recommendation of the special task force (STF) headed by former chief secretary to the government Mohd Sidek Hassan that had probed the forex losses.

"The cabinet did the right thing to have the RCI because the nation and the people want to know the truth.

"That decision was made because the forex losses were so huge that it caused BNM to be technically bankrupt," he said in a statement in Putrajaya.

Salleh said the Pakatan Harapan intention to go on a roadshow on the matter was aimed at confusing the people and undermining the RCI.

"This clearly demonstrates that Pakatan Harapan is a failed opposition because they propagate double standards.

"When (former prime minister Tun Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad) was with Umno, they demanded an RCI. Now that Mahathir is with them, they reject the RCI," he said.

On June 21, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the cabinet unanimously agreed with the recommendation of the STF that there was a need to form an RCI to investigate the forex losses.

It said the task force had also found that there had been attempts to conceal facts on the forex losses - with the confusing information given to the cabinet and Parliament.

The PMO said the task force found that there was a prima facie case to be answered by BNM for the losses and, therefore, had recommended the formation of the RCI.

It said the establishment of the RCI was therefore expected to unravel the issue which had shackled the country for the past 23 years.

- Bernama