Lim called Kadir “a stupid fool” for challenging International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed, Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani and Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Muhammad Ibrahim to show the pay-in slips to prove that Chinese companies are actually bringing in capital into the country.
In his blog post entitled “Show Us Genuine China Money, the former New Straits Times group editor-in-chief had referred to the RM144 worth of deals signed between Malaysia and China early last week.
“Let us see if the Chinese capital is really flowing in and every sen is accounted for. We do not want the China companies to come to Malaysia on the pretext of investing in huge projects but raising the capital from the local market.
“I challenge Mustapa Mohamed, Johari Abdul Ghani and Muhammad Ibrahim to show us the pay-in slips to prove that the China companies are actually bringing in the capital,” Kadir wrote.
To this, Lim contended that the deals are Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) and not contracts.
“What a stupid fool this person is. These are MOUs signed. They don’t sign and then bank all into your account.
“They will invest and disburse the payments in stages based on the project progress over the years – just like other investment commitments.
“Does this Pak Kadir know anything or not?” Lim asked mockingly.
Lim in turn, criticised Kadir for remaining silent when requests for proof were made on how the veteran newsman had been able to purchase 20 per cent of a company that later took over MRCB, TV3 and NSTP.
“Last time I had asked you to prove how you financed your 20 per cent purchase of Realmild, which ended up owning the multi-billion ringgit MRCB, TV3 and NSTP.
“I had also challenged you to show us what happened to the money when you sold that 20 per cent stake.
“This is well within your control as this is a straight-forward purchase and sale of shares, so it is easy to show us your money flows,” Lim said, adding it was stupid for Kadir to instead ask foreign investors to show bank-in slips.