There's no hiding it anymore.
It's now all out open war between PM DS Najib Razak and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The guys during happier time
I mean there is no holding it back anymore
The latest allegation of Najib receiving money from the 1MDB deals, though apparently on the surface not coming from Dr Mahathir, finally did it.
Najib's statement, issued last night, among others directly accuses Dr Mahathir of being behind it.
Najib was clearly angry with the old man.
But let's put that aside for a while.
I want to first go through Dr Mahathir's latest post yesterday,
TAXES
which I think had also made Najib very angry.
It's not just the allegation of him getting money from 1MDB by The Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report, okay.
The following is Dr Mahathir's post and my understanding of it were in BLUE.
1. One of the greatest achievements of Malaysia is in the collection of taxes. Malaysians willingly pay taxes. They fear legal action being taken against them. They fear more the raids on their businesses and residences by the income tax authorities. I know this because I was raided when I was expelled from the party and was working as a medical practitioner.
2. They got hold of my cheque stubs and nothing I said would convince them that the money in my account was not all mine. In the end I had to pay more than twice what they claimed I had not declared.
3. The income tax people are always on the lookout for people who live beyond their means. They would raid these people and would force them to pay additional tax should they feel that the culprit had not paid up fully on their wealth.
(Dr Mahathir is telling us that not unlike other ordinary rakyat, he pays his taxes and in fact had even once been penalized for allegedly not doing so)
4. But of late we see some selectivity in the focus of the income tax people.
5. For example the step son of the Prime Minister is reported to have spent hundreds of millions of USD or Ringgit buying luxury residences in London, New York and Hollywood. He also expended many millions to finance the production of the film “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
(Dr Mahathir wants Najib's step-son, allegedly one of the recipients of the "missing" 1MDB money be investigated for possible tax evasion)
6. When the Prime Minister’s Office claimed it was inherited money the brothers of Najib protested. Their father was not rich and did not leave hundreds of millions of Ringgit to the family. Even Najib had to admit that Tun Razak did not have such money to leave to his family. So where did this money come from?
(Dr Mahathir pointed that even Najib's siblings disapproved of what the PM had allegedly done)
7. It was claimed that the money was from business. If he made so much money from business he would have paid income tax. Has the income tax people investigated him regarding his business profits. How much tax had he paid. It is a secret of course. But I hope it is not a cover-up.
(Dr Mahathir wants Najib to come clean with his wealth by declaring his tax returns in public.)
8. Then there is Jho Low. He bought a bank for 260 million US dollars. Where did he get the money. Is it borrowed? Did he sell the bank and paid taxes on the profit.
9. He also bought luxury flats in New York and Hollywood. Where did the hundreds of millions he paid for all these come from? Has he paid tax on them?
(Dr Mahathir believes that if Jho Low, a central figure in the 1MDB mess, is clean, then the Najib's administration should made it public that he had paid the taxes of his considerable wealth)
10. I believe executives of 1MDB and its subsidiaries are paid high salaries. Have they paid taxes on their earnings?
11. I understand that the Prime Minister as adviser to 1MDB is not paid anything. He is paid the Prime Minister’s salary, which I know is far smaller than what business executives get. But the Government pays allowances, the electricity and water bills, transportation, home, etc. So the salary can all be saved and spent.
12. But still the lavish lifestyle must cost a packet. It must be more than what I saved after 29 years in the Government.
13. It is a secret of course. But I just want to ask, has the income tax people investigated the source of the money and the tax paid.
(Dr Mahathir wants to know whether Najib paid his taxes and how much. The same goes for 1MDB bosses.)
14. We talk about equality before the law. In this country even the rulers are subject to certain laws. It is the essence of justice. We must be equal before the laws and we must be seen to be equal. Everyone who should be investigated by Government agencies must be investigated. There should be no discrimination.
(Dr Mahathir, despite this very obviously personal probe of Najib is saying that he is asking a fair question.)
Now, lets get back to the latest Statement by YAB Prime Minister Najib Razak
Again, my understanding of it were in BLUE,
"In recent months, various allegations – all unsubstantiated, and many simply outrageous – have been directed against me and my family.
(Najib takes exceptional offense to the personal attacks)
These attacks began when I refused to implement Tun Mahathir’s personal demands. I refused, because I do not believe it is right for Malaysia to be ruled by proxy.
Tun then created a crisis when he recklessly claimed that RM42 billion was missing from 1MDB, when in fact these are audited debts backed by RM51 billion audited assets.
(Najib says Dr Mahathir is the main culprit and that he was doing it to satisfy his own personal agenda)
The latest allegation is that I have taken state-linked funds for personal gain. I believe Tun, working hand in glove with foreign nationals, including the now discredited political attack blog Sarawak Report, is behind this latest lie.
Let me be very clear: I have never taken funds for personal gain as alleged by my political opponents – whether from 1MDB, SRC International or other entities, as these companies have confirmed.
It is now clear that false allegations such as these are part of a concerted campaign of political sabotage to topple a democratically elected Prime Minister.
(Najib says Dr Mahathir is cooperating with enemies of the country to topple him)
At no point have those making these allegations offered any evidence. All we have heard is that these allegations are based on leaked documents and unnamed investigators. Not once has the source of these documents ever been shown, neither have the documents themselves been provided for verification by lawful authorities.
As we now know, a number of the documents on which recent allegations have been based were reportedly doctored. The person who was leaking these documents is under investigation by authorities overseas for attempting to extort and blackmail his former employer. This says a lot about the reliability of the documents, and those who are using them to damage our government and our country.
(Najib says all allegations against him are false.)
Those who continue to mount these attacks should be prepared to face the consequences of their actions. These gutter tactics - in some cases criminal tactics - to overthrow the government will fail. Where appropriate, they will be met with the full force of the law.
(Najib says he will not be holding his punches anymore and those who lied about him will be prosecuted under the laws)
It’s a shame that these false attacks motivated by self interest come at a time of unique opportunity for Malaysia – with our Chairmanship of ASEAN this year, and the prize of developed nation status around the corner. I will stay focused on the work of nation building for the people."
(Najib is sad over the whole thing but he is not going to give up)