PRESENT POINT POWER

The report below from the STAR, quoting Tun “We had the money in Bank Negara” is out of context. No where in the video recording (in English available from the STAR) did the Tun said this. He only mentioned “50 Billion in reserves” in the interview after launching a book entitled The Chinese Malaysian Contribution, which details accounts of Chinese migrants in the then Malaya, and how they contributed to the building of the country.
**************the unofficial Transcript of the interview..

Reporter Question: Tanjuddin claimed that he was instructed by you to buy MAS Shares, can you clarify?

Dr MAHATHIR: I don’t remember instructing him to buy MAS shares. And that time the government was not short of money. Yes we lost some money from the Central Bank; but we know what to do, how to recover and we recovered.

We didn’t need this money. What is there RM1.8 billion? Our reserves stood at more than RM50 billion, even at that time. We don’t need that money. Is not because of the money, I don’t remember asking him to buy those shares.

Perhaps you go to ask him. How he comes to the conclusion that I forced him to buy? I didn’t force him to buy.

Q: He also claim it was National Service to buy the shares

No, No No I don’t ask people to do national service. At that time there was no “national service”

Q Your version of Daim selling of MAS?

Well, the only thing is that.. this Daim said that Ramli wants to buy MAS.

So we were privatizing everything that time. So you want to buy MAS you pay money and take. You don’t have money we don’t give. So they wanted to give an exchange of shares. Celcom shares changed for MAS shares, no money involved. You want to buy you pay money. So you pay money, borrowed RM1.8 billion. You like to accept MAS, we don’t like pieces of paper and all that we don’t accept.

Q: You set the price?

Well, I don’t know. I don’t do those kinds of things, I only decide on principles. As Prime minister, it would be difficult to check everything. We got plenty of work to do when I was Prime Minister.

Q: what is your opinion of the people trying to play the role of mediator?

Well, I have met Tan Sri Khalil who is the mediator. And I have told him what needs to be done. It is up to him.

Q: Is he the mediator?

He is the mediator and he came to see me. I explained to him what is the problem.. And he asked me how to solve the problem; I told him how to solve the problem, very simple

Don’t kowtow to Singapore
Don’t give too many APs
Don’t undermine Proton
Don’t Sell Augusta , those things.

Q: What about the selling of Augusta

You buy something for RM500 Million and you sell for RM4 and you said you don’t lose any money. I don’t know
You buy something for RM500 you sell for RM4 and you profit?

But Proton is the only one in the world that profits. There must be marvelous people there.

Q: Did Tan Sri Khalid come back to you?

He hasn’t got back to me yet

And From The Star; 26 July 2006

Dr M: I did not direct Tajuddin to buy MAS ;By EDDIE CHUA

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has denied he had instructed former MAS chairman Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli to buy shares in the national carrier shares to bail out Bank Negara.

“I don’t remember instructing him to buy the shares,” he said.

He said it was former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, who had told him that Tajuddin was interested in MAS shares. “We were privatising everything at that time. When he wanted to buy the shares, we told him we wanted cash,” he added.

He said Tajuddin had earlier proposed to the Government to buy MAS shares through the exchange of Celcom and Naluri shares. Dr Mahathir said he did not agree with this proposal.

“I said if he had no money, we were not willing to sell him the shares,” the former prime minister said, adding that Tajuddin borrowed RM1.8bil to pay for the MAS shares.

Dr Mahathir was commenting on Tajuddin’s claim that he was asked by the Government to acquire a 32% stake in MAS in 1994.

Tajuddin had made this claim in his counter suit filed on June 29 against the Government and 24 other parties over his purchase of MAS shares.

This followed the suit by Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd and its subsidiaries, Danaharta Urus Sdn Bhd and Danaharta Managers Sdn Bhd, against Tajuddin, filed on May 11 seeking RM589mil as the balance of a RM1.79bil loan given to him in 1994 to buy MAS shares.

“I did not force him to buy MAS shares. I never asked him to do national service,” Dr Mahathir said after launching a book entitled The Chinese Maaysian Contribution, which featured the accounts of Chinese migrants in the then Malaya, and how they contributed to the building of the country.

Tajuddin had claimed that MAS shares were sold to him in the midst of Bank Negara losses in foreign exchange as a result of speculation in the international currency market.

Said Dr Mahathir: “At that time the Government was not short of money. “We had the money in Bank Negara, and knew how to recover the losses. We had RM50bil in our reserves then. We did not need his money.”

He said he did not know how Tajuddin had concluded that he asked him to buy the shares.

And report filed via www.biznewsdb.com

MAHATHIR DENIES FORCING TYCOON TAJUDIN TO BUY MALAYSIA AIRLINES Updated : 25-07-2006; Media : AFX Story By : N/A

KUALA LUMPUR (XFN-ASIA) - Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad denied a surprise allegation that he forced a local tycoon to buy Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) from the government to help bail out the central bank.

Businessman Tajudin Ramli is suing for compensation over the deal, which he said Mahathir forced him into in order to raise money after the airline's then owner Bank Negara Malaysia suffered massive foreign exchange losses.

"I don't remember instructing him to buy MAS shares. ". At that time the goverment was not short of money. Yes, we lost some money but we knew what to do, how to recover, and we recovered," Mahathir told reporters.

"Perhaps you should ask him how he came up with the conclusion that I forced
him to buy MAS" said the former premier, who had just returned from overseas and was responding for the first time to the charges aired earlier this month.

Tajudin reportedly purchased a controling stake of 29 pct in Malaysia Airlines in 1994 from the central bank, paying about twice the market price for the ailing carrier.

Tajudin claims a conspiracy over the deal and is suing the government and a number of state-owned companies for 13.46 bln rgt, according to Malaysia's Sun newspaper.

The daily said he took out a 1.8 bln rgt loan for the purchase and that he was reluctant to buy the under-performing Malaysia Airlines, but that Mahathir told him he was performing "national service".

"I don't ask people to do nationalservice," Mahathir said.

Recalling his version of the events, the former premier said he was informed of Tajudin's interest in buying MAS by then finance minister Daim Zainuddin -- who himself has been dogged by corruption allegations.

In 2000, the government was criticized when it bought back the loss-making airline for more than twice its market value. It was perceived as a bailout after Tajudin's loans became non-performing and were taken over by then-national asset management agency Danaharta.