The former prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad is insistent that he wants answers to some pressing questions. If I recall correctly, Proton has already given an explanation about the sale of the Italian motorbike company.

Perhaps, Tun Dr M now, as the erstwhile advisor of Proton, could explain why in the first place Proton ventured into the motorbike business when they could hardly get their act together with cars.

As for the crooked bridge in Johor, Tun Dr M should tell us how he intended to build half of a bridge in Singapore territory without their consent.

And the AP issue? It is the former prime minister who should be doing the answering since the AP business thrived during his 'reign'. It will be extremely difficult to believe that he did not know who was getting how many APs and what they were doing with them.

There are a few more things that Tun Dr M could enlighten us on.

Why were Perwaja's projects awarded in 1982 to Nippon Steel Corp? What edge did the latter have over Midrex or HYL Corporation? What is the total amount of money that has been spent on the original Perwaja project?

On what basis was Sadeg Mustafa Faris invited to Malaysia to set up InventQjaya Sdn Bhd and given a grant of RM440 million? How has the nation benefitted from InventQjaya?

What is the justification for forcing the TNB to sign the agreements with the IPPs which have now put TNB and consumers in a bind? Were these contracts made in the best interest of the nation?

What are the terms of the North-South Highway contract? Why does the government (read: the public) have to pay compensation to the highway concessionaires if they are not allowed to raise toll rates? Were these contracts made in the best interests of the nation?