KUALA LUMPUR: DAP veteran Dr Tan Seng Giaw has hit out at the opposition camp for repeatedly claiming that Malaysia is going bankrupt.
He said he had to make harsh statements about his own "friends" because he wanted to speak the truth without any intention of going against the opposition party.
"Malaysia will not go bankrupt as claimed by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. It's the truth because I personally searched for an answer to this issue.
"When I attended the International Monetary Fund forum last year, I got hold of a report about Malaysia. I read the report which said that we only lagged Singapore. We were in fact among the highest (performing economies) in the Southeast Asian region.
"It was the same thing during the IMF conference last month. I purposely threw the question at them, whether the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) issue will make Malaysia bankrupt.
"They said, 'there is no such thing'. This is an international organisation which does not owe Malaysia anything. (So), is IMF lying to us?" he said, as reported in the beritadaily.com portal yesterday.
Of late, the former deputy chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been pelted with criticism following his statement that there is not enough evidence to link Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to the 1MDB scandal.
The eight-term Kepong MP said an investigation should instead be made on former 1MDB chief executive officer Shahrol Azrai Ibrahim and related parties.
Dr Tan also questioned the rationale and motive behind the action of DAP members to label him a "running dog" and traitor to the party.
"I am now called 'running dog', or 'anjing suruhan' in Malay. What wrong have I done, is it just because I spoke the truth? They accuse me of being on Najib's payroll, (so) I must be a millionaire now," he said in jest.
Commenting further, Dr Tan said that he had gone through the Auditor General’s report on 1MDB a few times, and had never found any evidence that Najib was involved in the scandal.
"What else do you want me to say, that Najib is guilty? How can we say someone is guilty when there is no proof? Whatever happened to "not guilty until proven guilty?"’ he said.
In defence of his stand towards Najib, he cited as an example, former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who was sacked from UMNO and Cabinet following breach of power and sexual misconduct.
"In Anwar’s case, I believe that he was not given fair treatment and there was no strong evidence of his wrongdoings. Now, the same person who decided Anwar's fate has joined the opposition.
"Why (can we) say Anwar is not guilty, but Najib is? Where is the proof?" he said in an interview at his clinic.
Anwar was jailed in April 1999 for corruption and sodomy, two charges that until now have not been verified.
Anwar's jailing had triggered nationwide protests, which led to the Reformation movement to call for Dr Mahathir, who was then Prime Minister, to resign.
Dr Mahathir has since joined the opposition and set up his own party. He has also agreed to clear the way for Anwar to become Prime Minister if the opposition pact wins the 14th general election (GE14).
On another development, Dr Tan, who is also a dermatologist, said he would not be defending his Kepong Parliament seat in GE14, and stressed that he does not harbour any grudge against anyone in DAP.