DR Mahathir Mohamad today questioned the Najib government’s plan to invest more than US$3 billion from the Employees Provident Fund in the US, saying that its track record with 1MDB does not inspire confidence.
“The government, of course, has the right to take this money as it pleases. (But) we wonder whether this money is a loan to the government,” he said in his popular blog, chedet.cc.
“Workers may want to know the terms of the loan. (The) government’s management of 1Malaysia Development Board Bhd does not convince the people that it is skilled at managing money.
“If it fails to make profits, how will it repay the loan to the workers of Malaysia?”
Prime Minister Najib Razak on his three-day visit to Washington recently announced that Malaysia will be investing more than US$3 billion (RM13 billion) of EPF money in infrastructure redevelopment in the US, alongside a Malaysia Airlines deal to purchase 16 aircraft from Boeing for US$10 billion.
The former prime minister said the use of EPF funds will come on top of another US$7 billion already invested in US equities.
Dr Mahathir questioned the wisdom of investing in the US at a time when the government “does not seem to have money. Malaysia Airlines is also not the most profitable airline company in the world”.
“The question is, will we be seeing the US$10 billion again or will it disappear like 1MDB money?”
The Pakatan Harapan and Bersatu chairman said Najib’s visit to offer help to the US may go down in history “as the best example of how the poor can help the rich”, and the prime minister should be congratulated for making Malaysia recognised as a great investor to restore the economy and infrastructure of developed countries.
For this, Dr Mahathir said Malaysian workers will no doubt support the use of their pension pot to enrich the US and won’t mind losing their money.
THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
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