Najib takes on Mahathir for malicious rumours and lies

PM accuses Mahathir of regurgitating smears manufactured by the very Opposition groups that he previously denounced as liars.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has taken to his blog to address continuing criticisms from former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad who wants him to step down on the grounds that he’s not fit to hold the post. “Much of what Mahathir has said lacks objectivity and was downright wrong,” said Najib in setting the stage.

The question that should be asked: What was Mahathir’s motivation in choosing this moment to regurgitate smears manufactured by the very Opposition groups that he previously denounced as liars?

The GST, said Najib, was a case in point. “He is opposed to the implementation of GST, although all credible economists believe that broadening our tax base is the right thing to do.”

“The revenue will be used for the welfare of the rakyat. Indeed, the idea was first mooted during his administration.”

It was not the done thing, said Najib, to undermine his administration when he had been so supportive of the former Prime Minister during his time.

Despite stressing that he had been democratically elected and has a right to continue as Prime Minister until his mandate runs out, and while alleging at the same time that Mahathir had been unfair and misleading in his criticism, Najib nevertheless made a feeble attempt to appear to say something.

For starters, Najib alleged that Mahathir had “echoed malicious rumours” about his wife, Rosmah Mansor.

He cited some personal examples:

In a recent speech in Ipoh, said Najib, Mahathir cited a fictitious statement that the Opposition has been peddling through the use of a doctored Utusan Malaysia article. Also, he added, the former Prime Minister regurgitated a false smear started by the Opposition at the time of the last general election that his wife owned a RM24 million ring.

“It is a lie, and the company that owned the ring clarified in detail at the time that such a ring was never bought by Rosmah,” he said. “It is regrettable that someone of Mahathir’s stature should pass on such slander to the people.”

Mahathir, he added, also echoed the Opposition in raising the purchase of the replacement government jet, claiming that the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong does not use the jet, “calling me a liar”.

“But again this is false. His Majesty was in fact the first VIP passenger to use the newly arrived aircraft for a trip to Langkawi, and will continue to do so,” said Najib.

Elsewhere, Najib alleged that “Mahathir has been using the financial challenges facing 1MDB as an excuse to attack me”.

“It is true that 1MDB was facing challenges, but not at the level being alleged,” he added without again getting into specifics.

Indeed, he continued, some of the allegations that have been made “have no grounding in reality”. For instance, he said, Mahathir’s claimed that he was responsible for a loss of RM42 billon on 1MDB’s balance sheet. “This appears to be a deliberate twisting of the facts as 1MDB has not made a loss of this amount,” said Najib. “This is the amount of its total debt; debt that is far exceeded by the company’s assets of RM51 billion, as audited and confirmed by Deloitte.”

Most large companies around the world, he assured, have high levels of debt, “and there is nothing unusual about this”.

Mahathir also claimed that he does not answer issues surrounding 1MDB, noted Najib.

“But I have gone beyond that and instructed the Auditor General to conduct an audit of 1MDB, the results of which will be presented to the bipartisan Public Accounts Committee,” said Najib. “This should ensure that the process was transparent, and all questions that have been asked of the company are independently answered by legitimate bodies rather than by politically motivated sources.”

According to Mahathir, said Najib, he was doing something because of what people tell him when they come to see him. However, he argued, the former Prime Minister should check whether such hearsay and claims have any evidence and truth before airing them. “He knows well that many allegations were made about what happened under his administration,” said Najib. “And always Mahathir’s answer was: ‘Where is the proof?’ He should be applying the same test to whatever he hears (about Najib and wife).”