Dr Mahathir Mohamad's claim in the interview with malaysiakini that Anwar Ibrahim lied regarding the ACA investigation on Rafidah Aziz as well as on Bank Negara's foreign exchange losses is entirely baseless.

Allow me to kindly remind Mahathir that an investigation into Rafidah Aziz and Rahim Tamby Chik was conducted by the Anti-Corruption Agency and a report was submitted in 1995. The attorney-general then ruled that there was sufficient evidence to begin criminal proceedings, and recommended prosecution against Rafidah, but Mahathir refused to allow that then.

This was revealed by Anwar in his trial and the details of the investigation were released by Ezam Mohd Nor, for which he was subsequently convicted under the Official Secrets Act.

As for Bank Negara's foreign exchange speculation losses, Anwar has released a statement that has not been factually refuted by Mahathir. This is that in spite of a slight offset of profit, Bank Negara's losses from forex speculations amounted to RM31.3 billion.

Anwar has revealed some of these facts in his statement to Mahathir in June 2006 and will reveal more details when his suit against the former prime minister is heard in court.

The writer is special assistant to Anwar Ibrahim.