KUALA LUMPUR – Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he has no issues reopening the investigation into the RM33 billion Bank Negara Malaysia foreign exchange (forex) scandal that took place in 1994 when he was finance minister.
“My stand is clear. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, come tomorrow, can instruct the attorney-general to reopen investigations. I have no problem.
“This is where I differ with Datuk Seri Najib. I don’t want any cases involving politicians are covered up using political machinery or torture. I don’t like that political and government machinery is misused to intimidate political rivals.”
He was questioned by Datuk Seri Najib Razak during last night’s debate with the former prime minister bringing up the lack of a forensic audit on the matter.
This came about after Anwar insisted on a forensic audit into the financially distressed Sapura Energy Bhd even though Najib suggested a bailout by national oil company Petronas.
Najib questioned Anwar over the “No Further Action” classification over the police report lodged during the Pakatan Harapan administration.
“I would like to know what your stand on this is,” Najib told Anwar.
In 2017, the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on the forex scandal tabled its findings in Parliament but the 524-page document was not debated.
Chaired by former chief secretary to the government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, the RCI was established by the government to probe into the billions lost between 1991 and 1993.
Last night, some 400 were at the Malaysia Tourism Centre here starting at 7pm, including government and opposition lawmakers, party members, academics, journalists and members of the public.
Interestingly, chants of “reformasi” rang loud within the hall during the arrivals of Najib and Anwar.
Tensions were tangible to the point that the emcee for the night had to remind the crowd that the day’s agenda is for a silent debate, which bars chanting, cheering, and applause.
For the most part of the 90-minute event, Anwar highlighted root causes and the need for transparency and more accountability, while Najib attempted to table solutions to the country’s economic woes.
And although the troubled oil and gas company Sapura Energy took centre stage in the first segment of the debate, much of the debate was on the country’s post-Covid-19 recovery, good governance, and nation-building.
Among the highlights of the occasion was Anwar shooting down Najib’s proposal for national oil company Petronas to buy over Sapura Energy, instead insisting on forensic audits and greater scrutiny of the financially distressed firm.
The debate comes following weeks of taunts and online verbal disputes, initially between Najib and PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli, centred around the struggles and financial woes of Sapura Energy.
The exchange triggered a challenge from Rafizi to debate the topic publicly, to which Najib agreed, on the condition that Anwar was made part of the debate. – The Vibes, May 13, 2022
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