Mukhriz FB: If all is Dr M's fault, did rest 'makan gaji buta?'

A Facebook page dedicated to supporters of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's son Mukhriz has asked what were ministers and other public officials doing during Bank Negara's foreign exchange (forex) losses and the Memali incident.

“Everything is Tun's (Mahathir) fault. After a (Royal Commission of Inquiry) RCI on forex, now there is to be an RCI on Memali,” read the posting.

It pointed out that when Umno was successful during Mahathir's era, the success was attributed to Umno, but when controversies emerged, the blame is consigned to the former premier.

As for the forex and Memali issues, the posting asked: “Were these Tun's fault alone? Not the fault of the government, cabinet, home minister, Bank Negara, police, inspector-general of police and so forth?”

“If that was the case, then what were the ministers and others doing at the time? Makan gaji buta ka (getting paid salaries without doing any work)?

“Was it the case that for 22 years, Tun administered (the country) on his own?”

The posting also quoted Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's speech when officiating the Langkawi Umno meeting, where he told the people not to be tied to any individuals.

He said the struggle was successful because there is a government and the government is not dependent on any individual.

“But when there are mistakes, it is the individual's fault,” pointed out the posting in Mukhriz's Fan Club (FC) page.

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the government is prepared to form an RCI into the 1985 Memali incident if there were requests to do so.

Following this, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said the Islamist party would form a special committee which would arrange a meeting between the victims' next of kin and Zahid where a request for an RCI would be submitted.

Meanwhile, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man in welcoming the government's stand on an RCI for Memali, also reminded that the Islamist party had been calling for a similar commission to be set up on 1MDB.

This evening, the RCI on the forex issue, following its first hearing, concluded that Bank Negara incurred losses amounting to RM31.5 billion between 1991 and 1994.

The commission's chairperson Mohd Sidek Hassan also claimed that the figure was concealed from Bank Negara's reports.

He said the commission would need to determine who ordered that the figure be hidden.

Mahathir and the opposition have accused Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak of dredging up old issues to exact political revenge against the former premier and deflect attention from the 1MDB scandal. - Mkini