Politically motivated, Dr M decries CIA report
Dr Mahathir Mohamad has decried the declassification of a report by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as politically motivated.
The former premier said the reports were written to demonise him, because of his criticism of Western nations.
“They attack me because I never stopped criticising them if they do any wrong, so they had to demonise me.
"Even the things I had never done, they would accuse me of doing it," he told reporters in Putrajaya today when asked about the report.
UPDATED 5.19PM | 'They attack me because I never stopped criticising them if they do wrong,’ ex-PM says.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad has decried the declassification of a report by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as politically motivated.
The former premier said the reports were written to demonise him, because of his criticism of Western nations.
“They attack me because I never stopped criticising them if they do any wrong, so they had to demonise me.
"Even the things I had never done, they would accuse me of doing it," he told reporters in Putrajaya today when asked about the report.
Asked if he meant that the allegations were baseless, Mahathir replied, "This thing happened way back in 1981 until 1984. Why are you bringing it up now? Can you correct anything that I have done before?"
"The purpose is political. Maybe someone might benefit from it," he added.
The CIA’s Directorate of Intelligence produced the nine-page document titled 'The Bank Bumiputra Scandal: More Trouble Ahead of Malaysia's Mahathir?' on March 5, 1985.
The CIA believed that there was circumstantial evidence to suggest that the Ministry of Finance and Bank Negara was aware of Bumiputera Malaysia Finance Ltd’s (BMF) dubious dealings at the time.
The BMF scandal had cost US$1 billion in losses as a result of its lending practices, which led to political problems for then prime minister Mahathir.
The CIA document was declassified last week, and was subsequently reported on by local media.
