TWO-TIME former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has reiterated that he has nothing to hide and has no qualms to declare his assets as he had done so on several occasions previously – which is already public knowledge – when he was the prime minister (PM).
But the issue at hand currently, according to the country’s longest serving PM of 22 years and 22 months is that his once protégé and current PM Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has several times been accusing him of abusing his position when he was PM to enrich himself and his family.
“I was also accused of owning billions of ringgit, planes and ships. Apparently, everyone knows,” he penned on his Facebook.
“I say show me proof that I abused my power to enrich myself and family or I will sue. I have taken court action and till this day, he (Anwar) has never shown any evidence except than to go here and there accusing me.”
For context, Anwar who is also the Finance Minister has recently remarked that he has no problems in making public his financial net worth and has even done so in the run-up to the 15th General Election (GE15) last year.
Recall that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman and PKR president had declared a house and three plots of land worth RM10.35 mil and about RM829,000 in cash and savings as of October 2022.
As for Dr Mahathir demanding proof that he had amassed wealth for himself and his family members through illegal means while in office, Anwar replied in earnest: “What proof? Everyone knows it. It’s like trying to make a wet string upright.”
The Tambun MP went on to quantify that Dr Mahathir’s wealth is an open secret and claimed the latter’s family was known to own aircrafts, ships and companies worth billions of ringgit.
Dr Mahathir is suing Anwar for defamation over remarks made during a PKR national congress in March that the 97-year-old politician had enriched himself and his family during his 22-year tenure as prime minister.
Dr Mahathir has repeatedly said he will only declare his wealth in court. To re-cap, Dr Mahathir had in November 2018 declared his assets at RM32.35 mil which placed him in the second spot to DAP’s Beruas MP and lawyer Ngeh Khoo Ham who topped the MACC’s asset declaration list with RM75.81 mil.
The former Bersatu and Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) founder who is now focusing on his Proklamasi Melayu (Malay Proclamation) agenda went on to rebut Anwar for having asked him to show proof of his assets when the onus is on Anwar to compile evidence of his supposedly wrongdoing.
“So, I repeat again, show me proof that I abused my power to enrich myself and family. Anyone can stake a claim on the political stage without any proof. These people are called Mat Retorik,” added Dr Mahathir. – May 16, 2023Remove featured image
