Information Minister Salleh Said Keruak has asked former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad to explain his allegation that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had sabotaged the nation's economy.
Salleh in a blog posting today said the former premier had commented on his own blog that if the troubled state-owned 1MDB had not been created then there would have need to borrow the RM42 billion it currently owes.
Salleh reasoned that if business could be done without loans then there was no need for commercial banks and all banks could be closed down.
"The Plus North-South Highway project not only needed to borrow money but it also needed a government grant. It charges users toll to pay back what it borrowed.
“And did not Perwaja, a company that failed, also need to borrow large sums of money?," he asked of Mahathir's projects during his tenure as prime minister.
"Mahathir alleges that Najib should be charged for sabotaging Malaysia’s banking and financial system. In what way did the prime minster sabotage Malaysia’s banking and financial system?
“Can Mahathir explain? Unfortunately Mahathir’s allegation does not state these details," he wrote in reply to the former premier's allegation.
Undeveloped land cheap
Salleh also that said 1MDB had tabled a full report on its activities during the cabinet meetings in June.
After explaining its plan for the rationalisation of its debt reduction which included a proposed initial public offering to bring in cash, the plan was approved.
"Then, the following month, the Special Task Force confiscated 1MDB’s accounts and documents which in turn delayed the exercise that would have turned 1MDB around,'" he said.
On the issue of 1MDB getting land cheap and making a quick profit, the information minister said naturally undeveloped land would be cheaper than land that had not been processed for approval.
Taking a dig at Mahathir, Salleh said even Petronas got land cheap in Paka, Terengganu but after developing it that land was now worth thousands of times more what it had originally cost.
