Aliran Media Statement
Mahathir and Mugabe: The cat is out of the bag Please support our work by buying a copy of our print publication, Aliran Monthly, from your nearest news-stand. Better still take out a subscription now. We also welcome donations.
Even the Number Two man in the government knew nothing about it! Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak claimed that he was not aware of it. He was quoted as having stated, "I have no information about that. I will check." Even Parliament was not privy to this information. Deputy Foreign Minister Joseph Salang Gandum informed Parliament that he was unaware of this. He is on record as having stated, "�I don't think the government would have funded the mansion." The Foreign Minister who has been in that office for some time should have known something about this. After all, it concerns foreign relations with another country and that must surely be within his purview. While the present Deputy Prime Minister may with some justification plead ignorance about this matter, what about the Prime Minister who was Mahathir's Deputy Prime Minister? Did he know anything about it or was he equally in the dark? This is an extremely odd situation. Ministers are in the dark, the Cabinet knows nothing about it and Parliament is none the wiser. We are talking about the country's wealth and assets. Can it be just given away by an individual without sanction from the government? It is not private wealth to be donated as and when one is inclined to do so. This is why it is so upsetting to read Mahathir saying, "Yes, we did give Zimbabwe, but what's wrong with that?" What does he mean by "WE"? It is more like "I" The entire country is in the dark and how can he claim that "we" gave the timber? And let's not forget Mugabe is not "Zimbabwe." The gift was for Mugabe's private mansion and not for Zimbabwe, the country. It is even more bewildering to read him stating that there was nothing extraordinary about the gift, which he described as "usual practice" in promoting Malaysian timber. Is this how we promote our Malaysian timber? It is more like exporting our timber without a valid permit for the construction of a private palatial mansion that does not accrue any benefit for the timber industry. Is it a fact that it is a "usual practice" to promote the timber industry in this fashion? If so, how many Heads of States have benefited from this promotion of the timber industry? It is very telling that Mahathir did not disclose the value of the timber that was given away to Mugabe. And what kind of timber have "we" presented him with? Does this gift run into millions of ringgit and if so how many millions? Mahathir is also accountable to the public for his action. He must come clean by providing facts and figures to justify why a guy like Mugabe, who is regarded as a tyrant and a despotic dictator, deserves this "gift" from Malaysians. This is just one example of the wealth that was squandered at the expense of the poor and the deserving.
P Ramakrishnan
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