New Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng would do well to remember he is no longer an opposition politician, as while his vocal tell-all approach on the 1MDB scandal certainly wins points for honesty, it is having the opposite effect on investors.

In his column today, Bloomberg's Andy Mukherjee said he was referring to the spate of statements made by Lim as his ministry undertook a discovery exercise on the scandal-ridden state investment fund, set up by ousted prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

He said one example was Lim's scathing attack against 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy yesterday in which the latter was called "utterly dishonest and untrustworthy" and Lim's statement that Malaysia's debt level now exceeded RM1 trillion.

All this, Mukherjee said, would have little effect on quenching the public's thirst for justice in the case, dubbed one of the world's biggest financial scandals.

Instead, the writer said it only risked leaving investors with an "uncertain fiscal outlook".

"Investors are uneasy about things getting out of hand. Already, foreigners have sold out on the nation’s stocks for 13 consecutive days.

"For Lim to declare in his first press conference that government debt has exceeded one trillion ringgit ($251 billion) because of a sly public bailout of 1MDB gets him full marks for honesty, but not for tact.

"The colorful language against (Arul) Kanda is jarring in an official press release. Malaysia isn’t a banana republic but a sovereign rated A3 by Moody’s Investors Service," he wrote.

It was Lim's job, he added, to keep investors placated and ensure the country's economy progressed.

"Lim is no longer an opposition politician but an important part of a new government that can initiate legal proceedings against any 1MDB official or director."

Legal action

This, he opined, coupled with the new Pakatan Harapan government's announcement it would reduce the unpopular but profitable goods and services tax (GST) to zero percent in June, has stressed the Malaysian institutions that have to ensure economic stability.

It was reported today that the continuing "political malaise" in the country has caused Bursa Malaysia to dive to its lowest point in five months after falling for a fourth straight session.

Mukherjee's opinion also ran in line with that of Najib, who warned his successor that revealing the nation's debt level at RM1 trillion without providing adequate details would only alarm the credit rating agencies and investors’ confidence.

Meanwhile, Arul Kanda today said he is mulling legal action against Lim, as the former felt the claims made against him by Lim were unfair and did not accurately represent his answers to the ministry.

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