I will continue exposing the scandals, Lim tells Anwar
Published on: Wednesday, June 20, 2018
PETALING JAYA: PKR de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has to strike a balance between exposing scandals and inspiring confidence among investors.Anwar, who helmed the ministry from 1991 to 1998, said Lim must be cautious when issuing statements as they would be used as reference points by investors."So, he should focus on pacifying the investors and inspire confidence among them," he told Astro Awani.
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Anwar noted that in the current scenario, Ministers were responsible for exposing deals and lies by the previous government.But the former deputy Prime Minister said that Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general, should leave the exposes to others, including the MACC.A few days ago, Lim said that another major scandal "related to the finance ministry" will be revealed soon, adding that his officers were expecting to uncover more scandals – all within the new government's first 100 days in office.Anwar's comments also came in the wake of Lim's criticisms of Moody's Investors Service over its recent report which Lim said did not uncover the true extent of the Malaysian government's debt.
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In response, Lim said his Ministry will continue to expose scandals linked to the former Barisan Nasional (BN) government as he has been directed to do so by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.He said he appreciated Anwar's advice and had taken the initiative to meet Anwar, who is expected to succeed Mahathir under an agreement among PH parties, to inform him of the economic situation and the scandals that had put a financial strain on the country.
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"Anwar was also shocked at the massive impact linked to the financial misappropriation by the former government," he said.Lim claimed that among others, financial statements had been falsified and hidden and even the auditor-general had no access to the "red files"."It has been explained to Anwar that all the financial scandal disclosures related to 1MDB and others in the media are made on the orders of the Prime Minister," Lim said in a statement.Lim, who is DAP secretary-general, claimed that Anwar had understood the matter.Lim said it would be inappropriate for him to get another Minister to divulge what had happened in his ministry."The people have the right to know the real status of the economy and the country's finances," he said."The people do not want a government that conceals or hides (misdeeds) anymore. When I met Anwar, he agreed."My ministry will continue to expose all financial scandals within the (first) 100 days as has been directed by the Prime Minister. We should be brave because we are right," he said.Lim also said it is time that Malaysia gave some healthy economic competition to Singapore."We must have the can do spirit. For example, why must we lose to Singapore every time? Beat them at their own game, you can do it. Penang has beaten them many times," he told a group of entrepreneurs here at the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre's (MaGIC) Global Accelerator Programme (GAP)."I'm not being anti-Singapore here but I'm just trying to motivate you that you can do it! After all if you look at Singapore, they use many of our people (talents)," Lim added.He noted that the Singaporeans are really good in marketing noting they have laid bold claims to being the originator of several delicacies that were common to both Singapore and Malaysia.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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