Mahathir says it again: “Wasn’t me”

(Harakah Daily) – Following PKR’s claim that the post-Anwar Ibrahim administration of Dr Mahathir Mohamad had applied for World Bank loans, the former prime minister has repeated his denial by giving details of the loans approved by the global financial body.

“I had just criticised the World Bank, then I ask money from them for what? I would be stupid,” was his immediate reaction to the claim by Anwar during a speech that Mahathir had not been walking the talk in his criticism of World Bank and International Monetary Fund, two bodies he frequently associated with his one-time heir apparent during the 1997-99 economic crisis.

Explaining further, Mahathir said he had refused to seek IMF or World Bank help during the crisis “because the so-called help would worsen the financial situation.

“Instead, in 1998 Malaysia imposed currency control which helped it to recover,” said Mahathir of his now famous currency pegging, which he claimed helped bring Malaysia out of trouble during the peak of the monetary crisis.

Mahathir claimed that it was Anwar, the then Finance minister, who signed the US$300 million loan with World Bank for the three programmes recently named by PKR’s strategic director Rafizi Ramli.

Rafizi had earlier pointed out that Mahathir’s Economic Planning Unit prepared papers for the loan since July 26, 1998.

“The agreement was signed by the government, whose prime minister and Finance minister at the time was Mahathir, at a time when Anwar Ibrahim was in jail with a bad back and a black eye. His involvement would have been impossible,” he said.

The loans were said to be for the Fund for Food Programme, Higher Education Loan Fund and Microcredit Programme.

However, Mahathir said all the loans negotiated with the World Bank in 1997 and June 1998 were stopped in 1999 following Anwar’s sacking and arrest, and pointed out that Malaysia continued to recover in the absence of the loans.

Further countering PKR’s claims, Mahathir said it was Anwar who implemented IMF’s policies even without taking its loans.

The former UMNO strongman cited how Anwar “raised interest rates, reduced the period for declaring loans non-performing from 6 months to 3 months, reduced budget allocation to ministries so as to achieve a budget surplus etc.”

“Although he did not oppose currency controls, his appointees as Governor and Deputy Governor of Bank Negara refused to implement the policy and resigned. Tan Sri Zeti was then appointed as Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia,” wrote Mahathir on his blog.

He again challenged his former deputy to take an oath on the Qur’an.

“I am prepared to swear that I never asked for loans from the World Bank,” he added.