Dr M: Putrajaya must give better answers on 1MDB or risk losing power
(Malay Mail Online) – The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition runs the real risk of losing in the next general election if Putrajaya fails to clear the air on the numerous allegations levelled against 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
The former prime minister said he does not expect the ongoing audit by the Auditor-General to yield much in terms of answers to the public’s many questions on the state-owned investment firm’s dealings.
“What is needed is not a normal audit of the account books. What is needed is a forensics investigation by the police on allegations made against several people who are involved in 1MDB’s financial management,” Dr Mahathir said in a post on his blog, chedet.cc.
“If this is not done and as soon as possible, the support of the rakyat that has dipped in PRU 2008, 2013, will go down further,” he said, referring to the 12th and 13th general elections.
“There is a big possibility that BN will lose in 2018, even after Umno leaders supported and are satisfied with the explanation given. Remember the vote of Umno members is not enough to win an election,” warned the senior politician.
On March 8, grassroots leaders from 160 Umno divisions attended a solidarity meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak ostensibly to exchange feedback on party matters.
Observers claimed that the closed-door meeting was organised so that Najib, who is also Umno president, could address growing dissent over controversial financial deals by 1MDB, though party men played it down as part of the president’s promise to meet division chiefs twice a year.
Dr Mahathir today acknowledged that government business can fall under official secrets, but stressed that debt repayment is public knowledge and the onus is on the federal government to explain why the firm has been granted multi-billion ringgit loans when it claims to be profitable.
He claimed that Putrajaya has not helped by providing answers to the many questions surrounding 1MDB “that don’t make sense”.
The federal government cannot simply brush aside allegations of impropriety in the firm’s dealings as the accusers claim to have evidence in the form of emails and agreement letters, among others, Dr Mahathir added.
“1MDB has raised many questions about its management and its uses. And the amount (of funds) is also very big. The rakyat have the right to be suspicious of the way such a large amount of their money has been used,” he said.
