Daim should not present the 2000 Budget in Parliament tomorrow
unless he first establishes his integrity by answering Anwar’s serious
allegations of gross improprieties and corruption against him
Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang
(Petaling Jaya, Thursday): Before
he introduces the 2,000 Budget in Parliament tomorrow, the first Finance
Minister, Tun Daim Zainuddin, should establish his integrity by answering
the serious charges of gross improprieties and corruption which have been
made by the former Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim both
in his police reports as well as in his testimony in the Kuala Lumpur High
Court since last Friday.
The 2,000 Budget will be the first casualty in terms of public confidence
and credibility if Daim is not prepared to first establish his integrity,
by continuing to keep mum on Anwar’s serious allegations which have received
national and international attention from the former Deputy Prime Minister’s
court testimony.
The allegatons involving Daim which Anwar made in open court are:
-
Anwar said he had received documents from corporate figures Tan Sri Halim
Saad, Tan Sri Wan Azmi Hamzah and Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli showing that they
had given Daim about RM600 million in shares and cash while Daim was Finance
Minister.
-
Anwar said when he was appointed Finance Minister, Daim was still asking
for the removal of the Finance Ministry’s files to his office which was
done by the then Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Mustapha Mohamed.
-
Anwar said his initial decision as Finance Minister to reject Daim’s
take-over of a bank, Hock Hua Bank (Sabah Bhd.) on the advice of the Bank
Negara which expressed reservations based on Daim’s position as an Economic
Adviser to the Government was subsequently overruled by the Prime Minister
and he had to act on the instructions of the Prime Minister to give his
approval.
-
Then Daim applied to change the name of Hock Hua Bank (Sabah
Bhd) to the International Bank of Malaysia. Again this was objected to
by Bank Negara. Although Anwar did not agree to this, he approved it on
the Prime Minister’s instructions.
If Daim is not prepared to first clear his name on these four serious
allegations of improprieties and corruption levelled against him by Anwar,
Daim should not be presenting the 2000 Budget in Parliament tomorrow.
(28/10/99)
*Lim Kit Siang - Malaysian Parliamentary
Opposition Leader, Democratic Action Party Secretary-General & Member
of Parliament for Tanjong