Kit Siang to face forex task force
DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang will be appearing before the special task force investigating the Bank Negara forex losses between 1991 and 1993 on Thursday.
Lim, who was the opposition leader at the time, said he would face the seven-member task force headed by former chief secretary Mohd Sidek Hassan.
In a statement today, Lim reiterated that he had been calling for an investigation into Bank Negara's losses since more than two decades ago.
"I stand by my speech in Parliament in April 1994 calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the colossal Bank Negara forex losses," said Lim, adding that functions of the task force today should remain the same as what he had proposed at the time.
DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang will be appearing before the special task force investigating the Bank Negara forex losses between 1991 and 1993 on Thursday.
Lim, who was the opposition leader at the time, said he would face the seven-member task force headed by former chief secretary Mohd Sidek Hassan.
In a statement today, Lim reiterated that he had been calling for an investigation into Bank Negara's losses since more than two decades ago.
"I stand by my speech in Parliament in April 1994 calling for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the colossal Bank Negara forex losses," said Lim, adding that functions of the task force today should remain the same as what he had proposed at the time.
Among others, he said the investigations should ascertain whether Bank Negara's forex losses since 1992 could exceed RM30 billion.
"(Also) to ascertain whether there had been any financial malpractices and abuses in view of the inconsistencies and conflicting explanations about the colossal forex losses.
"(And) to establish as to how the Bank Negara could incur such colossal losses," he said.
Lim, however, insisted that what is more urgent at the moment would be for the setting-up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to probe the 1MDB scandal.
Anwar already probed
The Bank Negara forex scandal took place when Dr Mahathir Mohamad was prime minister.
This was also during the tenure of jailed former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as deputy prime minister and finance minister.
At the time, the central bank had allegedly incurred a colossal loss due to speculating on foreign currencies.
On April 20, Anwar faced the task force and fingered Nor Mohamed Yakcop, then senior Bank Negara official, as the person responsible for the forex losses.
Nor Mohamed eventually became Finance Minister II during the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi administration before joining the National Economic Advisory Council during the Najib Abdul Razak administration.
Critics have described the establishment of the task force as a political move on the part of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to pressure Mahathir, who has been calling for the latter's ouster.
