A friend’s warning – Dr Mahathir Mohamad

A friend visited me in my office recently. I had helped him a lot when I was PM, not with money or jobs, but by smoothening bureaucratic processes in the way of his projects. As a result, he became a very successful educationist and was able to expand overseas. I regarded my help as essential as the bureaucrats can be unnecessarily dilatory or even obstructive. I do this for everyone and they are all very grateful. My friend was especially grateful.

Off and on, he would drop in my office to discuss current issues. He worried about Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s government policies and performance. He urged me to do something.

But when he dropped in this time, he seemed somewhat changed.

He kept on urging me not to “attack” the PM. I explained why I was doing so. But he persisted in urging me to desist from my efforts at questioning the leadership regarding the current financial scandal.

He warned that if I continued, I would lose my legacy. I told him what people think of my legacy, if there is any, is not important. I am concerned at what is happening in the country. Our good reputation is being eroded.

He repeated several times that I would lose my legacy. I really appreciated his concern. He is a friend and I felt he cared for me.

We parted as friends.

But now I understand better why he talked about my losing my legacy. He has been given the task of demonising me, of destroying what he calls my legacy. I think he and his boss believes that if I become unpopular then my condemnation of the shenanigans involving 1MDB would be ignored by people.

So we are seeing now a new and more aggressive campaign to demonise me and to show how much the PM is supported by the people. Clearly, large sums of money are being spent on this campaign. My friend is now installed in the Prime Minister’s Office and is working hard to cover up the wrongdoings of 1MDB. The first pages of the mainstream media now carry explanations on how the borrowed funds were spent. They add up neatly to RM42 billion.

Before, criticism was just ignored. A policy of elegant silence was followed. Now Najib has been advised to answer to explain. However, he lost an opportunity to explain when he did not turn up for for the “Nothing to Hide” forum.

But there really can be no explanation on the disappearance of the money supposedly brought back from Cayman Islands – US$6 billion. No explanation can be made on the denial by the Swiss bank that it received money from 1MDB.

No explanation on Arul’s claim that he saw the cash and the PM explaining there was no cash. Now the cash has become units. What units?

No explanation also on the inability to pay interest of 2 billion until Ananda donated or loaned 2 billion whatever.

Nor is there any explanation as to why 1MDB needs investments of US$1 billion by IPIC to pay debts to Deutsche Bank when 42 billion investments have been made.

Is there no returns on the investments? And many other questions remain unanswered.

My ex-friend will have to do better at demonising me if he is to earn titles etc. – chedet.com,

* Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is former prime minister of Malaysia.