It’s turning out to be a royal commission of inquisition

Anwar, Sidek get into heated debate on actual losses suffered

Victor Johan: Mohd Sidek Hassan, the nation and the world is watching you. You were appointed chairperson of this royal commission of inquiry (RCI) and you are there to facilitate the process so that the Agong and the rakyat will get to know the truth behind the forex losses.

Why are you getting into a heated exchange with witness Anwar Ibrahim and in the process making attempts to intimidate him? Your stance is definitely one who is not independent.

Earlier, we had Kamaludin Md Said, a High Court judge appointed as one of the members of this RCI, and he too got into a heated exchange with another witness, former Bank Negara Malaysia forex dealer Azman Mat Ali.

If these members of the panel can’t be independent and transparent with the objective of the RCI, they should all quit. It’s just too obvious that their objective of engagement here is only to serve PM cum Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) Najib Razak.

Worried Sick: Why has Sidek, the chairperson of the RCI, taken on a prosecutorial role? Isn’t he supposed to be acting like an impartial judge?

He is the one that is going to make a decision when the proceedings are over. If he is so gung-ho in getting a witness to admit to something, then he is indeed taking on the role of a prosecutor, isn’t he?

The king wants an independent inquiry into what had happened; he needs to know the truth. Please do not force witnesses to say what you want them to say.

Gerard Lourdesamy: Sidek is trying to be the mouse that roars. Indeed, where is your impartiality? Why are you attacking a witness based on your own assumptions and conclusions?

The entire RCI has been politicised to the extent of it becoming a farce. Sidek did not open his mouth when serving as a civil servant under Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim.

Now he wants to be Najib’s hero. After GE14, he will be sacked from Petronas and his pension interdicted. Then he will be singing a different tune.

Lord Denning: Monetary policy is the preserve of the Bank Negara. This was the standard set by governor Ismail Mohd Ali and former finance minister Tan Siew Sin. Fiscal policy is led by the finance minister.

The RCI chief should better be ready when he faces Mahathir.

Ferdtan: “Sidek, however, insisted that he was not politicising the matter, adding that he used to be a civil servant.”

So, what is there to prevent a “used-to-be” civil servant to turn to be a politician after retirement? Retirement living with much-reduced pension is not an option for some.

Dont Just Talk: What is the role of the Sidek? It looks like he has already made up his mind on the forex losses when he got into a serious exchange with Anwar on whether Anwar has informed the cabinet of the actual amount of forex losses.

Previous witnesses have mentioned that Mahathir and Anwar were not aware at that time of the forex losses, which the former governor Jaafar Hussein took responsibility.

Now that the former PM and his then deputy have been exonerated from the Bank Negara forex losses, the government should set-up a RCI on 1MDB financial scandal and the US$681 million found in MO1’s personal account.

Anonymous 788831449650206: Is the chairperson, who asked a lawyer to sit down and who argues with a witness, neutral?

Forex trading losses are not equal to losses incurred when money is allegedly stolen from 1MDB. One has moral turpitude, not the other.

Nor Mohamed: I accepted fair share of accountability in forex losses

Spinnot: Nick Leeson, who brought down Britain’s oldest merchant bank Barings, was jailed for losing £830 million in secret unauthorised trading in stock futures. Why no one went to jail for losing US$10 billion of Bank Negara’s foreign reserves?

Most likely the forex trading was authorised by the “higher up”? And despite the fact that a central bank like Bank Negara was not supposed to engage in speculative forex trading?

Wira: “Testifying before the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the forex losses, he (former Bank Negara advisor Nor Mohamed Yakcop) said he never discussed the forex transactions in the years between 1986 and 1993 with both the then finance minister Anwar Ibrahim and prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.”

With just one sentence, he had absolved both Mahathir and Anwar of any involvement in the forex scandal.

RM2.6 Billion Turkey Haram: Indeed, this statement is enough to vindicate Mahathir of his involvement in the loss. Najib, you have lost. Your plan to blame Mahathir backfire on you.

Now, the next RCI should be on 1MDB scandal and the RM2.6 billion in your bank account. As all Muslims believe, Allah is always on the side of those who fight the evil ones.

AGC will object to Azmin’s bid for judicial review in Jho Low case

Oldtimer: There are tons of evidence against Jho Low, and yet the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) objected to arresting Low? Very strange indeed.

One wonders if AGC is paid by taxpayers’ money to protect Jho Low, the suspected thief who stole money from Malaysia, allegedly with the help of authorities. Why is he protecting Jho Low?

Fernz: The AG belabours under the delusion that the Constitution gives him a blank cheque, i.e. unfettered powers on prosecution to the extent that he can refuse to bring a suspect to court even if there’s a case.

The rule of law is the basis of the Constitution. It must prevail.

Apa Ini?: They can’t go after Jho Low. It’s an Ali-Baba arrangement. Ali cannot be touched except by Baba, so why would Ali want Baba to be brought home?

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