KUALA LUMPUR – Former cabinet member Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof Rawa wants Johoreans to bear in mind the debacle surrounding the insolvency of Genting Hong Kong (HK) when they head to the polls soon.
In a Facebook post today, the Amanah vice-president said since coming into power, the current Malay-Muslim-centric government has brought upon a great deal of adversity at the expense of the rakyat.
He said the latest example of this is the RM2.51 billion in unsecured loans approved by three local banks – backed largely by government-linked companies – for a gambling firm that has since filed for liquidation.
“Malaysians, and, in particular, Johor voters, ought to make this case a lesson, and accept the fact that this Malay-Muslim government, which was formed without a mandate and out of political betrayal, is the cause of this calamity.
“The Barisan Nasional (BN) government was rejected (in 2018) due to integrity issues, and today, they return to power without a mandate by conspiring with traitors under the pretext of race and religion.
“Certainly, this betrayal has brought upon disasters after disasters to this country. Stop the chain by rejecting this pest of a party, traitors and those riding on religion,” he said.
Mujahid was commenting on the decision by Malayan Banking Bhd, CIMB Group and RHB Bank Bhd to grant a RM2.51 billion loan without any binding guarantee to Genting HK, the embattled cruise ship operator.
National assets Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), Khazanah Nasional Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) are the majority investors in these banks.
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz had said on Saturday that it is not uncommon for banks to issue unsecured loans, that they are free to approve loans to anyone, and that PNB, Khazanah and EPF are not involved in the daily operations of the financial institutions.
Hold relevant individuals, entities to task under Royal Commission of Inquiry: Mujahid
Mujahid demanded to know who was behind allowing banks to provide the unsecured loans – a practice he said has brought upon a huge risk to public funds that are supposed to be utilised for the economic recovery.
“They must be held accountable before a Royal Commission of Inquiry, in order to restore trust in the banking institutions,” he said.
On the same note, the Parit Buntar MP also urged the government to clarify when the loans were approved and whether Tengku Zafrul was responsible for leading the “project” in the name of profitable investment.
“The finance minister must relinquish his position pending an independent probe. Otherwise, he will be seen to have a conflict of interest and can potentially misuse his position to shut the case.”
Why silent on Genting HK fiasco now? Mujahid lashes out at present govt ‘advocates’
Mujahid, who is Perak PH chairman, also questioned the silence by advocates of the current government over the Genting HK issue, saying the clamours against PH over its handling of the Tabung Haji (TH) crisis during its time in power are non-existent today.
“When we were the government, slanderous remarks were made against TH as part of a despicable campaign, as though we did not protect the interests of Islam, although it is proven that we succeeded in reviving TH, which was previously damaged by BN.
“This issue of unsecured loans is not a slander, but an embarrassing scandal with funds valued close to 1MDB’s RM2.6 billion. Where are the voices of the Malay-Muslim advocates?
“Do they have the courage to call for an independent commission to probe?” – The Vibes, February 1, 2022
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