TV3 and Bernama last night reported that former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had “apologized” to Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for the alleged house in Perth, during his speech in Kulai late last month.
This is an excerpt from Bernama, www.bernama.com :
|
PUTRAJAYA, April 18 (Bernama) — Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Wednesday apologised to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for having alleged that the latter owned a mansion in Australia. Neither Abdullah nor his son, Kamaluddin, owned the mansion, estimated to cost RM60 million, located near the Swan River in Perth, as alleged by Dr Mahathir. It belongs to a Malaysian businessman, Datuk Patrick Lim. “Well, I shouldn’t make that statement because I was stating something based on rumours I heard and the rumours repeatedly said that the house belongs to him (Abdullah), “And then of course you know, when you are carried away after giving a speech like that, you don’t censor yourself and you are not too careful about what you say, so I said it and I’m sorry that I said something that was wrong,” Dr Mahathir said. The former prime minister made the allegation at a ceramah in Kulai recently. “I should be corrected and I’m very grateful that people have actually paid attention to my allegation and they found that the person who owned the house is not the PM, it’s not his son but somebody else,” he said. — BERNAMA |
This is a spin! It is a work of the spinmaestroes in TV3 and soon, NST in the morning.
Actually, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad never apologized to the Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi or any of the member of the family. All Tun Dr. Mahathir said was, he apologized (in general – note highlight in blue). He apologized because he made a mistake not verifying rumours that he heard about the house. When he was stand corrected, he thanked Raja Petra Kamaruddin of Malaysia Today, www.malaysia-today.net, who highlighted the point during the media conference, right after the keynote address to the Perdana Discourse Series “Media and National Development”. (I was there, sitting next to Raja Petra)
Let’s say, Tun Dr. Mahathir ought to “apologize”, for his error. How about Khairy Jamaluddin? Shouldn’t he apologize too? Malaysia Today exposed that the house belongs to Cindy Lim, wife of Dato’ Patrick “Badawi” Lim, a very close friend of his brother-in-law, Dato’ Kamaluddin Abdullah. Alright, taken Tun Dr. Mahathir is not kin. Of course he wouldn’t know. But Khairy Jamaluddin, made a mistake or falsified information?
Excerpts from his interview with Agenda Daily (www.agendadaily.com), 3 April 2007:
Wartawan:Tentang dakwaan seolah Perdana Menteri miliki rumah bernilai RM60 juta di Perth pula bagaimana?
Khairy :OK.. sekarang ni orang buat tuduhan…tapi tak ada siapapun yang buat satu kenyataan yang katakan beliau miliki rumah yang dimaksudkan itu.
Tuduhan itu…orang kata…saya dengar …jadi ini untuk selamatkan diri dari tindakan undang-undang barangkali …
Jadi sampai sekarang tidak ada sesiapa yang kata YAB Perdana Menteri miliki rumah di Australia bernilai RM60 juta…tak ada siapa…sebab tak berani…
Wartawan:Jadi rumah yang dimaksudkan itu memang wujud?
Khairy: Rumah yang dimaksudkan itu..dimiliki oleh anak beliau…rumah Kamaluddin
Either which, he ought to apologize also. Bernama and TV 3 should demand that Khairy Jamaluddin apologize as well. That is only fair since Bernama and TV 3 reported that Tun Dr. Mahathir “apologized” to Pak Lah.
How long will this wayang bangsawan will carry on much further? Shakespeare once said, “The bigger the lie is, the more people would believe in it”. However, the Malays have a saying, “Sepandai pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ketanah jua“.
The "thirteen million plus Ringgit" guy rambles.... 
As a journalist, I am shocked to read the Bernama story. So shocked I did not wish to make a link to my blog when I posted on dr M’s “apology”. TV3 reported it the same way. I will wait to see what and how NST and the Star report it. Berita Harian’s version should be interesting bcos I hear Kali is indisposed and Hisham would want to look good as a substitute.
Interestimg to see what the foreigh media’s take would be. Spore Straits Times was there too.
Spin… spin… Spin. What else is new. At least TDM is in the prime time TV3 news. Kalau tak habok pun tak ada.
Adios
Berita Harian and the Star reported that former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad apologized to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. NST and Utusan was silent.
This is wat said in NST online
“On a claim he had made in a speech last month that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi owned a RM60 million mansion in Perth, Dr Mahathir said he made the statement based on a rumour.
“You know when you are carried away in a speech like that, you are not too careful.
“So I said it. I’m sorry I said something that was wrong and I stand corrected. The house belongs to someone else.”
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohon Maaf Kepada Perdana Menteri
(Rabu, April 18, 2007 – Buletin Utama TV3)
Bekas perdana menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad memohon maaf kepada Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi berhubung kandungan ucapan beliau di Johor yang mendakwa perdana menteri telah membeli sebuah rumah di Perth, Australia.
Tun Dr Mahathir antara lain mendakwa rumah yang dibeli bernilai hampir 60 juta ringgit.
Bagaimanapun rumah yang dimaksudkan sebenarnya adalah milik isteri seorang ahli perniagaan dan hartanah, Datuk Patrick Lim.
“ saya tidak sepatutnya mengeluarkan kenyataan seperti itu yang hanya berdasarkan khabar angin yang saya dengar bahawa rumah itu adalah miliknya (Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.) tentulah apabila berucap kita akan terleka dan lupa untuk membuat tapisan sendiri atau berhati-hati dengan ucapan yang disampaikan. saya mohon maaf kerana mengeluarkan kenyataan yang salah.”
Tun Dr Mahathir bercakap kepada media selepas menyampaikan ucap utama di siri keenam wacana perdana di Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana, Putrajaya menurutnya, beliau menghargai usaha pihak tertentu untuk menyiasat dakwaannya dan seterusnya mendedahkan perkara sebenarnya.
Dulu wayang bangsawan satu hiburan…juga wayang kulit satu hiburan…sekarang wayang politik…menakutkan dan adakalanya menjijikkan! Kita penontonnya tidak lagi terhibur dengan sandiwara palsu ini lagi…
well, the world’s a stage!
That is the classic Mahathir for you. I was not trained to be a jounalist or linguist but I think I know what cynical or sarcasm means. I know how to read between the lines and I know when I am being taken for a ride.
So, we can guess. KJ will call his FIL and say… “ayah, orang tua tu dah mintak maaf… tak caya tengok paper ari ni… padan muka dia. Itulah, nak lawan tak tengok orang.”
Sad. They are supposed to be the smartest in malaysia and lead us to greater heights. But what do we expect from a group of idiots who could not figure out why everybody else is laughing…
Tuan/Puan pemilik blog yang dihormati
Salam
Mohon maaf kerana mengacau. Jika Tuan/Puan sudi dan mempunyai masa, harap lawati Malaysiakita Posting terkini Tuan/Puan disenaraikan. Salam.
Ah..mainstream media….
[…] sebuah rumah mewah bernilai RM60 juta di Australia Barat [4a], [4b]. Rumah “Orang Itu,” tidak [5]. Rumah Si Ipar pun, tidak [6]. Terkini khabarnya, rumah Si Biras pula […]
cuba tanya si botak raja petra…kenape dia tak duduk aje rumah macam NIk Aziz…dia punya rumah pun lebih kurang mahligai…tak ramai Malaysian mampu beli rumah macam Raja Petra
Rumah si botak raja petra macam mahligai tak sume org mampu nak beli rumah cam tu…saya rasa cik penulis ni pun nak duduk rumah cam mahligai kalu ada peluang…ntah lagi maha mahligai…