If this piece of news is anything near truth will be shocking to anyone in Malaysia and overseas because it is the compensation for the victims families which could be at least assisted the families financially owing to loss of family bread earners causing hardship to the families since Japanese invasion.
For the sake of good name of Malaysia government and the welfare of victim families it is time to verify the authentication of the news and if it is true then to find out when such huge money paid and where it is kept and when the money was paid or to be paid to the Victim families..
However, if such huge money was wrongfully utilised by any person(s) the current government should set up task force to recover it and right all wrongs. Only then the souls of victims could rest in peace and those involved in unlawfully possession of the money could sleep well after surrendering the money to victim families.
It is morally wrong for current government to keep silence on this matter and action should be taken against guilty party(ies) to restore the good name of Malaysia and its government and let Japanese government and overseas countries know Malaysia is now run by capable government.
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The revelation by the Embassy of Japan that it had paid compensation to the Malaysian government for families of victims of the so called “Death Railway” project in the 1940s is shocking.
The sum of RM207 billion or whatever the amount must be revealed by Mahathir.
Mahathir’s the ultimate danger for Malaysians, Malaysia
By Chua Jui Meng
IS DR MAHATHIR Mohamad going to take the same “silence is golden” stand as Najib Abdul Razak and his infamous diamond-loving wife Rosmah Mansor when cornered by an issue?
The revelation by the Embassy of Japan that it had paid compensation to the Malaysian government for families of victims of the so called “Death Railway” project in the 1940s is shocking. The sum of RM207 billion or whatever the amount must be revealed by Mahathir.
He was close to the Japanese government and corporate sector when he promoted his Look East Policy aimed at enhancing trade with Japan.
The money, believed to be amounting to RM207 billion, was meant to be distributed to some 30,000 Malaysians who had been recruited as forced labourers by the Japanese to build the Thai-Burma rail link.
This means each affected family is entitled to receive between RM2.8 million and RM3 million as compensation.
The stinking part of the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government is that the public is today unaware of the compensation payment by the Japanese.
We would have thought Mahathir would have brought the money back from Japan in triumph, like a victorious Roman general.
Umno would have organised a huge gathering of the victims or their families and distributed the money. No, it was all covered in secrecy!
The money rightfully belongs to the victims of the “Death Railway” project and their families and to rob them is despicable!
The money is believed to have been transferred by the Japanese government to Malaysia in the 1990s.
This means it happened during Mahathir’s 22-year reign. Who then has hijacked or stolen the money?
It is no small sum and surely Mahathir cannot expect us to accept his infamous “I cannot remember” or “I am unaware of such compensation money from Japan”?
This time, Malaysians cannot accept his “selective loss of memory” or “selective amnesia”. Whoever stole the money from the 30,000 dead Malaysians is/are worse than animals, hitting the depths of greed.
The government must immediately set up a national probe team to track down the thief/thieves to recover the money and for prosecution.
Surely there are paper trails, beginning with the transfer/s from the Japanese to the Malaysian government.Meanwhile, Japan can do further justice to the 30,000 Malaysian forced labourers who died in the “Death Railway” project by revealing their identities so that their families are traced.
And, as for Mahathir who said five years of Pakatan Rakyat (PR)-rule is dangerous because BN will have no chance to return to power, I say, “Good riddance”.
After 55 years of misrule, it is time to retire Umno permanently. With mounting and rising federal debts at RM620 billion or 74% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), meaning the BN is operating way above the 55% federal debt ceiling, that is more dangerous to Malaysians and the country.
If, for some reason, our oil wells suddenly run dry, we will immediately be deemed a bankrupt nation and untold misery would befall all Malaysians.
Also, a point to show why PR is more dependable is that the financial management of the PR states, debuting in 2008, has been acknowledged by the Auditor-General as more superior than the states governed by the BN.
And your silence over reports of your US$44 billion (more than RM132 billion) in accumulated wealth is even more dangerous.
And with you now seemingly trying to engineer your son, Mukhriz, to rise as prime minister by or before the 14th General Election, it is the ultimate danger for Malaysians and Malaysia.
Here’s more details on the “Death Railway” project compensation fiasco and a reproduction of Malaysia Chronicle readers’ response and comments to Mahathir that five years of PR rule is dangerous because BN will have no chance of returning to power:
Friday, 04 January 2013 08:55
Embassy confirms HUGE compensation paid, but what did Dr M do with it?
The Embassy of Japan has today confirmed that it had paid money to the Malaysian government being compensation for families of victims of the so-called 'Death Railway' project in the 1940s.
Jejak, the PAS-backed secretariat led by Bukit Gantang member of parliament Nizar Jamaluddin, visited the embassy today in a bid to unravel truth over some RM207 billion in unpaid compensation. Also present were PAS Youth vice chief Raja Iskandar Al-Hiss and Jejak operation chief Safarizal Saleh.
The secretariat was formed to track down next-of-kins of those forced to work in the 'Death Railway'. Jejak quoted the embassy's second secretary Takaharu Suegami as saying that the money was transfered in the 1990s, but added that his office would have to consult Tokyo to get further details.
Suegami however said Japan had no details about how the money was distributed by the Malaysian government.
Nizar had claimed that he had received documents proving that the RM207 billion from Tokyo was received as far back as 2004.
The money was meant to be distributed to some 30,000 Malaysians who had been recruited as forced labourers. The RM207 billion in compensation means each affected family is entitled to receive between RM2.8 and RM3 million.
Nizar meanwhile urged the Japanese government to provide names of Malaysians who worked in the 'Death Railway' project.
Source – Harakahdaily
