Backing Anwar Ibrahim, MCA Youth chief Chong Sin Woon called on Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng to heed the advice of the PKR de facto leader on delegating the exposing of scandals to other ministers.

"I shudder to agree with Anwar, but the man has a point when he reminded Lim to focus on increasing confidence among foreign investors and to let other federal ministers handle exposing scandals.

"However, Lim insists that he is simply following the instruction of the prime minister and he lacks the power to dispense instructions to other ministers to take over this task.

"I believe that Lim's rebuke infers that he admits having neglected the core responsibilities of a finance minister all this while," Chong said in a statement today.

'Focus on the country's fiscal well-being'

Chong said Lim, as the manager of the federal Treasury, should focus on the country's fiscal well-being.

"On paper, the power in the hands of a finance minister is second only to the prime minister.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with Anwar’s advice that Guan Eng ought to avoid putting all his time and effort only to chase past scandals while sidelining his actual duty," he said.

Chong said the issues of scandals should be within the domain of enforcement agencies.

"The investigation and exposé of malpractices have always rested in the jurisdiction of law enforcement and prosecution units like the police, MACC, Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Customs Department.

"What the current finance minister is doing right now will not only derelict his own duty, but he is also disrupting the division of power among government administrations," Chong claimed.

Chong said if Lim's claim that the national debt is indeed at RM1 trillion, then he should all the more focus on building investor confidence.

"He should be more concerned about resolving this supposed crisis by actively attracting more foreign investments, re-stabilising the stock market and foreign exchange rate, instilling confidence in investors, addressing the alarming rate at which foreign capital outflows; and not solely go chasing after exposés and scandals," Chong added.