KUALA LUMPUR - Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed today scorned Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's allegation over Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz's statement on ringgit depreciation and 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
During the debate on 1MDB and the reconstitution of Public Accounts Committee today, Lim (DAP-Bagan) had quoted Zeti as saying should the 1MDB issues went unresolved, they could lead to an economic crisis.
"Bank Negara governor herself said that if the problem of 1MDB is not solved, the Malaysian economy will not recover. 1MDB is the cause of the country's economic crisis," he said.
Mustapa (BN-Jeli) defended Zeti and asked Lim to correct his statement.
"That is not true. I want Lim to retract his statement. The governor did not say 1MDB is the main cause ... I know because I was in that panel," he said in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Verbal exchanges then ensued before Lim changed his statement and insisted 1MDB was one of the factors affecting the country's economy.
Mustapa replied: "Bagan stated that the main reason for the downfall of the currency is 1MDB. I want him to be fair to the Bank Negara governor."
During Malaysia's Economic Update forum organised by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit in September, Zeti had said Malaysia needed to build its own strength and resilience to ride out the patch of uncertainties in China and the US.
She had stated that factors affecting the ringgit were largely driven by the global economic developments. — Bernama
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