Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak has dismissed Dr Mahathir Mohamad's claim that the recently declassified Central Investigation Agency (CIA) report implicating him in the 1983 multi-billion BMF scandal was meant to demonise him.
“If that is true why did the CIA wait 34 years to do this?
“They would have done it when he was still prime minister and not now when he is no longer important to the US,” he said in a blog post today.
Salleh noted that the BMF report was just two of 13 million pages that the CIA declassified and was purely coincidental.
“The CIA did not declassify just these two pages regarding the BMF issue alone.
“Many countries declassify documents that are classified or under the Official Secrets Act after 25, 35, or more, years depending on the sensitivity of those documents. Some, of course, remain classified forever.
“But for Mahathir to suggest the CIA declassified 13 million pages of documents just so that they can leak two pages related to BMF aimed at demonising him is ludicrous,” he said.
Responding to the matter this morning, Mahathir claimed that it was politically motivated and someone might benefit from the leak.
He also alleged that it was related to his habit of criticising the West.
“They attack me because I never stopped criticising them if they do any wrong, so they had to demonise me. Even the things I had never done, they would accuse me of doing it.
Asked if he meant the allegations were baseless, Mahathir replied, "This thing happened way back in 1981 until 1984. Why are you bringing it up now? Can you correct anything that I have done before?"- Mkini
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