PUTRAJAYA, Sept 21 — Counsel for parties involved in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) foreign exchange losses in the 1990’s, have submitted their respective written submissions.

The RCI secretariat confirmed this when contacted by Bernama today.

Submissions from legal counsels representing former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former finance minister Datuk Seri Anwar and BNM, were received by the RCI secretariat before 5 pm today.

Counsel Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla represented Dr Mahathir while Datuk Dr Gurdial Singh for Anwar and Datuk Tan Hock Chuan for BNM in the RCI proceedings which went on for eight days.

RCI chairman Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan announced on Tuesday that the proceedings concluded after hearing testimonies from 25 witnesses.

Mohd Sidek also set today for the counsels to submit their respective submissions to the commission.

Among the witnesses who testified in the RCI proceedings were Dr Mahathir, Anwar, former BNM governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz and former BNM adviser Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.

The other RCI members are High Court judge Datuk Wira Kamaludin Md Said, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia, Datuk Seri Tajuddin Atan, Co-Chairman of Special Task Force to Facilitate Business (Pemudah) Tan Sri Saw Choo Boon and K. Puspanathan of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.

In the submission, counsel Mohamed Haniff Khatri said the Cabinet, and the Prime Minister as the Head of Government by law cannot be responsible for any irregularities in the BNM’s audited reports.

He said any issues pertaining to the accounts or accounting treatment policies to the BNM’s audited reports were within the exclusive powers of BNM and the auditor general’s office to determine.

Mohamed Haniff Khatri said the Central Bank of Malaysia Ordinance 1958 (CBO) prohibits the Finance Minister and by extension the Prime Minister and the Government,from interfering on the details of accounts or accounting treatments toward the 1992 to 1994 BNM’s audited reports.

“The government, through the minister in charge under the Central Bank Ordinance 1958, being the Finance Minister has no power to interfere with issues pertaining to the accounts or accounting treatment policies to the BNM’s audited reports.”

Mohamed Haniff Khatri said said information given to the Finance Minister were oral representations of unaudited reports which were still then pending approval from the Auditor General’s Chamber.

As such, any reasonable minister must only be expected to take the contents of BNM’s audited reports as correct and as reference.

He said the finance minister did not have the power to interfere with the accounts or policies of BNM accounting treatment audited reports and at the same time the necessary authorities were in the midst of discussion to resolve the issues.

“It would be further fatal error for this Royal Commission of Inquiry to then impute liability on the Finance Minister as to the details of the accounts and/or accounting treatments towards the BNM’s Audited Reports of 1992 to 1994, when the law prohibits the Finance Minister, and by extension, the Prime Minister and the Government from any such responsibilities.”

Mohame Haniff Khatri said Anwar correctly believed that whatever oral information which he may have obtained pertaining to the losses, prior to the approved and certified audited reports which were unofficial, were not within his lawful capacity to inform the cabinet.

He contended that interferences or insinuation created through certain numbers of witnesses the fact that the purported actual forex losses was within Anwar and Dr Mahathir’s knowledge, did not have legal standing.

The RCI panel must complete its inquiry and submit its report to Yang di-Pertuan Agong by October 13. — Bernama