PUTRAJAYA, Aug 30 — Former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) deputy governor Tan Sri Lin See Yan testified that he only spoke with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim about the central bank's currency trading losses from the 1990s, and not the prime minister then.
He also told the Royal Commission of Inquiry's (RCI) hearing on the BNM losses today that he was never requested to discuss the matter with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Lin said that Anwar, who was then Dr Mahathir's deputy as well as finance minister, was “most unhappy” when informed about the losses allegedly incurred and had agreed that BNM should close any open positions to limit its exposure.
“I am not aware if anyone else informed the prime minister about the forex losses incurred by BNM,” he said.
Lin also described the late Tan Sri Jaffar Hussein, who was the governor of BNM when the forex losses happened, as an “honourable man”.
“I remember what he said to me was: I got this bank into this mess and I will fix it,” he said.
Lin said that Jaffar was “too trusting” with the individuals who operated the forex trading on behalf of BNM.
Lin said that when he became aware of the trading losses, he immediately urged Jaffar to cease the forex operations and the latter promptly agreed.
