YOURSAY | Let us call a spade a spade and work towards expunging the debt.
Guan Eng: I told Anwar exposés were done on Dr M's instruction
Anonymous_b3cdcd05: PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim is entitled to his view just like the commentators here considering he is like any one of us as he has no specific role in the current Pakatan Harapan government.
That probably is why PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad has turned a deaf ear to some of his questionable antics ever since his release. In fact, even Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng need not have responded but appears to have done so out of common courtesy.
But unlike you and me, Anwar must bear in mind that his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, is an integral part of the Harapan cabinet and his actions will be seen as in complement with her or likely to compromise her position.
It is quite apparent that Anwar is impatient and in a hurry to take over, but in his haste, he is in danger of dangling on the long rope extended to him.
Ricksen: The exposes by Guan Eng had to be made to exonerate the Harapan government of liabilities in the future when they have to surface.
Foreign investors initially shocked by the amount of over RM1 trillion (in national debt and liabilities), will appreciate the up-front transparency, and have already started to calm down when they realise that the new government is determined to stem corruption and bring the economy back to good standing.
But what really shakes foreign investors’ confidence is the disunity shown by statements within the high ranks of Harapan, such as this one being made by Anwar; a superfluous statement made just to show he is currently still relevant despite being in the shadow.
David Dass: Anwar has done it again. Anwar may see himself as Joe Bloggs. An ordinary citizen with the right to free speech.
But he should not forget that he is the leader of PKR, a member of the ruling coalition, the husband of the deputy prime minister and the person who is to succeed Mahathir as prime minister when the latter relinquishes his post.
The latest incident is his publication of Guan Eng's announcements of the various scandals that he discovers in the Finance Ministry. Anwar says that these announcements are sensitive and are better made by another minister from another ministry. Why sensitive? Because they may affect investment?
But if the truth about financial scandals will drive away investors then it does not matter who makes the announcements. Should those announcements not be made at all?
These are scandals made by the previous administrations. If they are discovered and not announced, they will have the appearance of a cover-up and when discovered subsequently will be blamed on the new administration.
Perhaps the sensitivity is that Guan Eng, a Chinese minister is making the announcement? If that is the sensitivity, then it is absurd.
Transparency is the issue here not ethnicity. Guan Eng has said that he had told Anwar that he was instructed to make the announcements by the prime minister and that he was in no position to ask some other minister to make the announcements.
It is surprising therefore that Anwar went public with his criticism of Guan Eng. Mahathir wants the public to know the full extent of financial improprieties involving the previous administration as they still appear to enjoy considerable support.
And some of the former leaders continue to protest their innocence of wrongdoing and defend many of the projects, transactions and contracts being reviewed and investigated.
Anwar should decide whether he is a freed prisoner of conscience travelling the world to explain his ordeal and how his party won the elections and secured for him his pardon or whether he is a member of the present government.
If he wants to be a member of the government then he should fight an election, become an MP and take a cabinet position. In that way, he will participate in cabinet meetings and will also be subject to the discipline of collective responsibility.
His current modus operandi is causing some concern among not just members of the administration but also members of the public. There are some who believe that he is actually undermining his own party. Anwar should pause and reflect.
Gerard Lourdesamy: Well said, Guan Eng. As the finance minister, you are answerable to the PM and Parliament. Anwar is not in the cabinet, government or in parliament. Therefore, Anwar should stop interfering in government business.
In what capacity is Anwar making public statements? He has no locus standi to represent the government at home or abroad. As the PKR ‘ketua umum’, he should confine his statements to his party matters.
It is not the business of the government to appease the rating agencies and short-term fund managers who love to play in our stock market for short gains. We should ensure clean government and strong economic fundamentals to attract genuine long-term investors and funds.
Abasir: It is perhaps time the PKR politburo meets to discuss the more than 300 comments here, get a sense of the prevailing mood and take corrective steps accordingly.
Anwar, to put it bluntly, is coming across as a modern-day Don Quixote, hopelessly deluded by reading and re-reading the romantic fiction created by his friends and relatives about an unjustly jailed, ever-crusading reformist on the verge of claiming his destined place in history.
PKR's more objective leaders need to sit the man down and gently let him know how the country and its people have moved on, how "keadilan" is meant for all the people and not just one black-eyed individual, how reformasi has finally removed what little tolerance there was for hand-kissing obsequiousness and why Malaysians, after May 9, will not hesitate to call out those who wear no clothes regardless of colour.
The man must awaken and adjust to a new Malaysia if he is not to be reduced to an object of pity and ridicule.
Mvarughi: It is disgusting to hear all the insults and uncouth comments aimed at Anwar. Anwar as the PM in waiting has every right to offer advice to Guan Eng, and what he said made sense.
Please remember without the reformasi started by Anwar in 1998, Guan Eng would never have the chance to be a finance minister or Dr M becoming the PM again.
Guan Eng would make a great finance minister if he focuses more on building investors’ confidence and managing the economy efficiently. While the exposes and clean-up operations are important, they should not be his overriding passion.
Babylon: I prefer the truth to anything else. If we are hugely in debt, let us call a spade a spade and work towards expunging the debt.
Don't worry about the stock market and investors’ confidence in the short-term. Investors’ confidence will return when we prove that we are transparent and not hiding the truth.
Spartacus: There's no right or wrong here. On one hand, the rakyat deserves the truth in respect to the real shape the country is in, as we have been lied to for years; on the other hand, yes, investors may worry about betting in Malaysia's economy, especially those short-term investors.
So, maybe Guan Eng or Dr M should also give some good news now to gain investors’ confidence. Alibaba setting up their operations here is one of them.
Anonymous_7dae9432: I can understand Anwar's concern. Guan Eng's position as finance minister makes whatever he says is reflective of the economic state of Malaysia, of which some of the revelations may destabilise Malaysia and scare off investors.
However, Guan Eng's transparency in this matter also makes Malaysia a more reliable and trustworthy place to invest in the long term.
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