Yoursay: Unlike 1MDB, no one profited from forex losses

RCI recommends Dr M and Anwar be probed, claims Daim abetted CBT

Anonymous 2443871479002035: “The RCI had established that Bank Negara had lost RM31.5 billion through forex trading between 1992 and 1994, primarily through the alleged actions of Nor Mohamed Yakcop,” said that Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Bank Negara’s foreign exchange (forex) losses.

Now how about an RCI on 1MDB? In the above, it’s “alleged actions”. In 1MDB, it’s daylight robbery of billions. And the thieves have been identified. Yet no action taken. We’re waiting…

Anonymous 2436471476414726: This is all political vendetta as well as to divert public attention from the 1MDB scandal. There would have been no RCI if former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad had retired quietly and not criticised the Najib administration openly.

Expect more bombshells on Pakatan Harapan. PM Najib Razak will use any dirty tactics imaginable to win GE14 as his survival depends on it.

Abasir: Okay, let’s assume that the five men appointed to this RCI to find 30-year-old dirt on Mahathir were not in any way biased and that RM30 billion or so was indeed lost in the course of forex trade.

But, unlike the RM2.6 billion found in Najib’s bank account, was any of the lost money lodged in the accounts of Mahathir, Anwar or Nor Mohamed Yakcop?

Why was the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA)? Wasn’t there something called collective responsibility when Mahathir was prime minister?

Wira: Unless there is a criminal intention to benefit oneself through concealment of facts, an executive decision basically cannot be questioned. This is how a government works.

Otherwise, the present government may also be hunted by a future government and charged in court sometime in the future for flawed decisions made today. The RCI recommendation is clearly political to benefit the Najib government.

On the other hand, 1MDB is different. Obviously, there are executives and members of the establishment who benefited because of the way this fund is run and that the money had been traced to private bank accounts, real estates, expensive yacht and paintings.

Those are the ones who should be investigated and prosecuted.

Leonie: Indeed, to make the forex losses as culpable as the 1MDB losses, they have to trace who ‘profited’ from the forex losses (of RM 31.5 billion).

The bottom line – both scandals reflect badly on the government of the day.

Cocomomo: The RCI members were supposedly men of repute. Whatever little reputation they had is now down the drain. They allowed themselves to be used by a corrupted regime to further its corrupt political agenda.

In a sense, I feel sorry for these men but I guess they deserve the flak they are receiving from society. They will however receive praises from the corrupted ones, which is the group they have embraced.

Zaid blames Umno leaders for derailing billionaire’s dream

RR: It was perfectly alright to extend the New Economic Policy (NEP), or affirmative policy, for 20 years from 1970.

But at least from year 2000, meritocracy should have been firmly brought into the system of government so that efficiency and development were not affected owing to indiscriminately promoting people with political and racial bias.

There is hardly a non-Malay who hold senior posts in the government, as if there is no merit in them. Even the appointment of T Subromaniam as the director-general of Customs for having perfected the implementation of GST, received loud cries from the Umno circle. Thanks to Najib, he defended the appointment.

I would largely blame Mahathir for this malaise during his premiership. He was in better control of the government then to implement meritocracy for the good of the nation.

Anonymous_1424794168: If we had done it right then, I actually believe that today the Malays too can be world-class leaders themselves as Malaysians are born smart and resourceful.

And Malaysia will be an even richer country than Singapore as we have plenty of natural resources. We could be rated a AA or even AAA country. But corruption destroyed it all.

Vgeorgemy: We can see billionaire Robert Kuok’s astuteness in business also enables him to assess the fast-changing political and religious landscape in the Islamic world by releasing his memoir at this crucial juncture of history to discourse with his native land.

He knew the impatient younger generation who is forming a majority population is clamouring for a just society based on universal human rights, peace, and prosperity to address the issues relating to economic development urgently.

If Saudi Arabia and Iran which represent two major Islamic traditions can move away from the extremist position of the religion for the sake of economic prosperity, then we must be able to embrace the moderation and meritocracy which are needed to grow the economy and innovation.

We have done it before in the 1980s for a short period. We can do it again for the welfare of the majority population this time around.

Existential Turd: What Kuok said in his autobiography has been on the minds of many Malaysians, especially the non-Malays. One can say the seed of backwardness has already been planted when Malaysia kicked Singapore out in 1965.

Malays would rather be lord of a kampung than a partner in a city. It is nothing new. No prize for pointing out the obvious culprit.

But what is more disappointing is that the so-called “progressive” parties in the opposition do not have the courage to change course. Even DAP that touted “Malaysia for Malaysians” castrates itself from any aspiration to lead the country. So much for sloganeering.

David Dass: Will Kuok’s autobiography stimulate the kind of thinking necessary to bring about positive change in the country? Kuok is Chinese. He is also Malaysian. His memoirs speak of his relationship with our past leaders and the role he played in some of the big issues affecting our nation.

The whole nation knows who Kuok is. In fact, the whole world knows who Kuok is. So his story is a story we all want to know. His biography will fly off the shelves.

Already Malaysians are buying the book from Singapore and elsewhere fearful that the book will not appear in Malaysia. I do not think that will happen.

Our leaders should also read his book and reflect on it. He was a Malaysian who wanted Malaysia to proceed along the correct path. It is time for us to make some course adjustments now. For the sake of all Malaysians.

Awang Top: Sadly, the train has gone too far towards the abyss and any little correction would trigger a riot. We have leaders and goons who focus on the short term rather than the future glory of our nation.

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