Dr M: Claims meant to blacken my name
NST

PUTRAJAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir said yesterday that the claims by former Sabah Anti-Corruption Agency director Mohamad Ramli Abdul Manan were part of moves to tarnish his name.

The former prime minister said Mohamad Ramli’s claims that Dr Mahathir had placed him in “cold storage” were akin to accusations made by former Malaysia Airlines chairman Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli.

Tajuddin had claimed that Dr Mahathir had directed him to buy shares in the national carrier to bail out Bank Negara.

“It is all very easy to make accusations but show proof,” he told reporters after giving out appointment certificates to 10 honorary members of the Kuala Lumpur Malay Chamber of Commerce at his office here.

Dr Mahathir is a Grand Fellow of the chamber.

Mohamad Ramli had claimed that he was “put in cold storage” on Dr Mahathir’s instructions for investigating former Land and Cooperative Development Minis- ter Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam for corruption.

Dr Mahathir said there was no truth to those claims and he was never informed when ministers were investigated by the ACA.

He said he was only informed if a minister was going to be charged with graft.

Asked to comment on the Hong Kong-based Political and Eco- nomic Risk Consultancy (PERC) report that Malaysia’s economy was perceived to more corrupt this year than last year by foreign businessmen, Dr Mahathir said it showed that efforts to reduce corruption had failed.

Asked about Barisan Nasional’s chances in the next general election, he said: “It will be a big win, 90% of the seats.”