Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has lamented that Malaysia has lost its status as an "Asian Tiger" due to its impressive economic performance.
"Once upon a time Malaysia was called an Asian Tiger. Today Malaysia is not even a pussycat," wrote Mahathir on his blog today.
"(Instead) we have become one of the ten most corrupt countries in the world."
He then sarcastically congratulated Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for this "achievement".
Mahathir had said this in view of the possibility that the controlling stake in national car maker Proton Holdings would be sold to a foreign firm.
China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co was among companies rumoured to be interested in a 51 percent stake.
Proton was Mahathir's brainchild and took off in 1983.
Having become prime minister in 1981, he presided over a period of economic boom in the 80s and early 90s when Malaysia was described as an "Asian Tiger".
However, Malaysia was hit hard by the Asian financial crisis in 1997 but later recovered. Mahathir stepped down in 2003.
Mahathir, who is now with the opposition, had accused Najib of corruption amid multi-billion deposits in his personal bank accounts.
Najib had denied the money was from 1MDB and claimed it was a "donation" from a member of the Saudi Arabia royal family.
He denied wrongdoing or taking public funds for personal gain.-Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.