KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 — Undeterred by Datuk Seri Najib Razak blaming him for creating the current 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) “crisis”, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad lobbed the ball back in the former’s court by accepting the blame.
But Dr Mahathir also offered Najib a solution to end the “crisis”, saying the best option would be for the latter to resign as prime minister and return only when 1MDB is thoroughly investigated and cleared of any wrong.
Dr Mahathir added that although he admits to being the person behind the “crisis”, it was Najib who had caused it by “borrowing huge sums of money and losing billions of ringgit”.
“I will admit that I am behind the ‘crisis’. I am behind it because there is a climate of fear in this country.
“Lots of people know about the loss of billions of ringgit by 1MDB. These people are in a position to know because they have seen evidence of this loss.
“But they are afraid because of actions which the government can take against them. They may lose their jobs, or contracts or expectations of titles etc,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his latest blog post today.
He said these critics of 1MDB approached him for help but he desisted for a long time, knowing full well that any move on his part to reveal the alleged misdeeds of 1MDB would eventually lead to Najib being questioned.
Dr Mahathir said he first tried to resolve the matter quietly by telling him in private that he no longer supports his leadership.
“But there was no result,” he claimed. “So I had to go public. Najib has destroyed Umno and BN.
“I know he would lose the next election. And then the whole country will see turmoil as no party, would have the majority to run the country,” he said.
“So I decided to expose the wrong-doings of 1MDB of which the Prime Minister is effectively the head.
“Is there a crisis? There is. It is caused by the Prime Minister creating 1MDB borrowing huge sums of money and losing billions of Ringgit,” Dr Mahathir added.
He urged Najib to step down to allow a full investigation on 1MDB’s reported RM42 billion debt pile, insisting that with the prime minister still in power, the probe would not be carried out thoroughly.
“If no crimes can be detected and all the money is returned, Najib can come back as Prime Minister and lead BN in the next election,” Dr Mahathir said.
He said by accusing him of starting the so-called crisis, Najib was as good as saying the alleged disappearance of billions of ringgit should be accepted and ignored as though no wrong had been committed.
But from the public’s interest in the controversy, Dr Mahathir said the matter cannot be ignored and those guilty of any wrongdoing must be brought to book.
“A crisis may be the result but should we allow thieves to steal billions of ringgit in order to avoid a crisis,” he said.
On his blog on Monday, Najib accused Dr Mahathir of causing the “mess” in the country that he now has to bear the brunt of the blame for, amid the ongoing controversy surrounding 1MDB.
Najib also said in the Frequently Asked Questions section on his blog that the former prime minister did not have to face endless allegations during his time in office, from 1981 to 2003, as social media was not developed then.
“The ‘mess’ that Tun refers to, is largely of his own making as a result of his attacks and his echoing of Opposition lies and slander,” Najib wrote.
Dr Mahathir has been calling openly for Najib’s resignation, citing the controversy surrounding 1MDB that is currently being investigated by the Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee.
Source: www.themalaymailonline.com
