‘Probe RM207b Death Railway compensation’

Posted on 7 January 2013 - 10:18pm

Aaron Ngui
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

GEORGE TOWN (Jan 7, 2013): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak should conduct a probe into the RM207 billion compensation paid by the Japanese government to Malaysia, which was to be distributed to families of about 30,000 Malayans who were recruited and forced to work on the Burmese-Thai "Death Railway" project during the World War II.

"It is better for the present prime minister to conduct the investigation," PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said, commenting on reports carried by online news portals that the Japanese government had paid the compensation in the 1990s. 

However, the compensation has yet to be distributed to families of the victims. "The RM207 billion was never disbursed through the Treasury. In all my time as the minister of finance, it was never submitted or sent through the Treasury," Anwar, who was former deputy prime minister and finance minister, said.

He said if the money had then been sent through the Treasury when he was the finance minister, he would have been fully involved. Anwar said a member of parliament from Pakatan Rakyat had raised the issue in the Dewan Rakyat before.

"The prime minister should now conduct an investigation and submit a full report to Parliament," he said. 

Meanwhile, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy said Anwar will be asked to explain what happened to the RM207 billion.

He said PR had nothing to hide regarding the compensation which was reportedly paid to the Malaysian government in the 1990s when the premiership was held by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and when Tun Daim Zainuddin and later Anwar, were finance ministers.

"We will ask Anwar to give an explanation on this," he said at a press conference today, describing the forced labour as a "colossal tragedy".

"Until now, we have not been told what has happened to the money and how it has been distributed.

"The federal government needs to come clean on the issue and a royal commission should be set up to look into the matter. We need to have all the details ... how could the money disappear into thin air, just like that?"