Published : 12:00 am January 30, 2015 on DAILY FT
Dear Mr. Mahendran,
Many web pages and newspapers give account of your appointment. You may be a clever person, as your profile says. I looked at your tenure at the BOI. The period was not a game changer for the BOI.
You must be so important to the Prime Minister that he had to fight hard to make a non-national like you the Governor of the Bank. Is this country so bankrupt that we had to find a foreigner as the CB Governor? Anila Dias or W.A. Wijewardena would have made good governors
The newspapers say the President took a long time to approve your name. Even at Cabinet there were strong objections to you being appointed. Why? You know the answer.
A firm which is linked to a relative by law between 30 September 2010 to 31 March 2011 purchased and pumped (5.57%) of Grain Elevators, that’s 3.2 million shares. They carefully dumped off by 30 June 2011, mostly on the EPF.
The EPF purchased five million (8.4%) between 3 January 2011 to 31 March 2011. The profit was over 800 million. This is the biggest EPF fraud. There are many more, Mr. Mahendran.
Will you give me an assurance that you would get the files out and investigate and deal with the white collar crime? If you do not, the poor UNP will be the loser. You will surely go back to your home country Singapore and the Prime Minister who fought so hard for you according to the newspapers will sit once again in the Opposition.
Can you please give us an assurance that you will investigate the relative’s involvement and also ensure his company will not be allowed to act as a primary dealer now that you have been made the Governor?