Bank Negara forex loss RM130 billion?
Another Brick in the Wall
The official version of losses by government during the hey days of Tun Dr Mahathir on the Bank Negara Malaysia forex trading losses was less than RM10 million.
However, the government position changed from not true, to only paper loss, and finally Raja Petra raised the point that the then Prime Minister and Minister of Finance lied to the public, Parliament and cabinet.
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah used to claim the losses could be RM16 billion as indicated by his calculated negative capital position of BNM. Dato Murad have been talking of US$10 billion but only got notice recently and a Special Task Force to investigate was convened. The exchange rate then would mean it could range from RM30 to RM40 billion.
The Mole columnist, Salahuddin bin Hisham, who debunked the current claim on the slide of ringgit, posed the question: Did BNM forex wipe out the country’s reserve? The foreign reserve then was less than RM100 billion, thus the losses could be in that ball park.
Now, Raja Petra’s posting over the weekend here is more alarming:
The real losses were more than US$13 billion or RM130 billion at today’s value. The monthly turnover was RM700 billion, while the total forward position was US$150 billion.
This blog believed that the mess is by Tun Dr Mahathir and Tan Sri Mohamed Nor Yakcop. And the Mole columnist believed it had something to do with:
All as a result of someone mesmerised to a new toy of program trading introduced to him and yearned to get even with the market for a major loss earlier for trying to corner a commodity market.
Program trading is for trading in smaller amount and riding on trends. The way BNM was trading it was as if they were trying to be the Hunt Brothers that dominated the silver market at one time
RPK insisted it involved Tun Daim Zainuddin.
Daim had been blamed then for “firing” the successor to Tun Ismail Ali for BNM Governor, Tan Sri Aziz Taha. However, sources claimed it was at Mahathir instruction in reaction to a 30 or was it 13 pages of critical letter to him.
Someone should get in touch with Aziz Taha. He is the only one still around among the many that wrote to Mahathir of their concern on the financal status and running of BNM then.
It will relate to the forex losses.
Not only did government lied on the real status of BNM financial position, presumably to save nation’s face and preserve financial credibility of country, but there was a shabby cover-up to hide the true losses.
