In response to stories about Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and a US$50 billion loan that have appeared on a number of Malaysian blogs, a story which I first published on the counter-terrorist finance website, Jeffrey states amongst other things:

‘Who has verified the authenticity and signatures of the letters mentioned in the report? The story first originated from one Ganesh Sahathevan, was blown up by blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin of Malaysia Today and picked up by Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang. But who is Ganesh Sahathevan?’

I note that Jeffrey has discovered reports concerning my work and I, which can found on many parts of the Net, including here.

Having said that, I wish to point out the questions concerning this US$50 billion loan and Bank Negara's role in it were put to the bank’s assistant sovernor Zamani Abdul Ghani but which Zamani refused to answer.

This refusal formed part of the basis of what I reported at the website mentioned above. Despite this publication, Zamani and Bank Negara have continued to maintain their silence - I doubt if one could describe it as an ‘elegant silence’ given Zamani's initial response: ‘Rubbish’.

Moving on, Jeffrey asserts that ‘Bank Negara cannot be that stupid’. Here, let us look at the other matter that I raised in my story at terrorfinance.com, about Commercial IBT Bank’s Labuan Branch.

Here we have a branch of a bank continuing to operate in Labuan under Bank Negara’s supervision, despite the actual company in Australia being de-registered, ie, no longer in existence!

The CEO of the ‘bank’, one Adrian Ong Chee Beng, continues to remain in his position without objection from Bank Negara despite being charged with fraud. See story and documents here.

The matter of Commercial IBT is a matter that I have questioned Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz about since 2003 - and for which I have not received a response.

Yet, in November 2003, Bank Negara despatched then Labuan International Financial Centre (Lofsa) director-general Rosnah Omar and Ratings Association Malaysia’s Suresh Menon to Australia to look into the matter of Commercial IBT, because ‘Lofsa was being criticised in the Malaysian Parliament [...] following agitation [...] by two Australians who were expatriate Malaysians’.

If this is not stupid, what is?

Or perhaps, this is a case where one of my pet phrases applies - ‘One has either been very stupid, or very devious’.

Finally, as for a story by me being ‘blown up’ by Peter Kamaruddin, whom most of you know as Raja Petra Kamaruddin, it is a matter of public record that he has accused me of being an agent for Abdullah Ahmad Badawi no less. My threatened legal action also shut down this website of his for a period of time in late 2003.

Therefore, perhaps now is a good time to ask, ‘But who is Jeffrey?’ I, meanwhile, continue to await some sensible response from Bank Negara on all matters raised over that past five years, but I’m not holding my breath.