Dr M won’t resign, even if found guilty over forex losses

KUALA LUMPUR — Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad declared yesterday that he has deep knowledge of foreign exchange trading losses incurred by the country’s central bank during his decades-long leadership.

He added that he believes the information will be relevant to an ongoing royal inquiry.

“I must admit I know quite a lot, maybe this is of the interest of the commission to know what I know,” he said outside the Palace of Justice court complex on the third day of an ongoing Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the financial scandal that took place during his 22 years as prime minister, before he stepped down in 2003.

The five-member RCI panel, led by former chief secretary to the government Mohd Sidek Hassan, is currently determining the validity of allegations of losses — said to be RM31.5 billion — suffered by Bank Negara Malaysia (BMN) between 1991 and 1994 due to foreign exchange speculation.

Dr Mahathir has been alleged to be behind the central bank’s forex losses. The probe could lead to criminal prosecution for him.

The panel is also instructed to determine if the central bank’s foreign exchange dealings, which incurred those losses, had breached the Central Bank Ordinance 1958 or other relevant laws.

The RCI has to complete its inquiry and submit its report to the Malaysian King within three months, by the scheduled date of Oct 13.

The RCI has been criticised by both Dr Mahathir and the opposition, who had accused Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak of attempting to exact political revenge against the former prime minister and deflect attention from state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) by dredging up old issues.

Dr Mahathir has been spearheading calls for Mr Najib to resign over a multi-billion-dollar financial scandal surrounding 1MDB.

The fund is being investigated in several countries for money laundering. Mr Najib has denied any wrongdoing.

Dr Mahathir had previously offered to testify before the RCI.

“We have asked (for permission) to perform watching briefs and asked to be called to give whatever we know about this case,” he said.

He also said he would not resign as chairman of the Bumiputera-centric Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) or leave the opposition Pakatan Harapan pact even if he was later found by the RCI to have played a role in the forex losses.

“I won’t accept it. It has nothing to do with my politics,” he said.

Meanwhile, jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim yesterday said he wanted to attend the RCI proceedings to prove his innocence, after he was implicated for hiding the bank’s losses.

He denied the former central bank deputy governor Abdul Murad Khalid’s claim that Anwar, who was then finance minister in Dr Mahathir’s Cabinet, had ordered that the matter be kept a secret.

“That allegation is false,” he said in a statement. “I never said that to him. I should stress that there was no need for me to say such a thing to a functionary like Murad who was sent by (then) BNM governor Jaffar Hussein to brief me on technical aspects of the accounting done by Bank Negara Malaysia and the contents of their annual report. At all other times, I dealt directly with Jaffar.” AGENCIES