PUTRAJAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he was not informed about Bank Negara's detailed daily foreign exchange (forex) transactions as the central bank did not have a legal obligation to report to him.
Nor did he have any right to interfere in its exclusive matters, he told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the forex losses suffered by Bank Negara Malaysia in the 1990s.
"There was no material need for me as the prime minister then to interfere," he said.
During his testimony at the Court of Appeal here on Monday, the former premier however said he recalled a meeting with former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Jaffar Hussein at the central bank's trading room during the late 1980s.
"Jaafar wanted to show me the place where forex trading took place to strengthen the country's economy. It lasted about half an hour," Dr Mahathir said.
The former premiere also said in the late 1980s, he had knowledge of the forced increase in the value of the Japanese yen, carried out by several big countries in an event known as the "Plaza Accord".
Due to this, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia experienced a negative impact because the nation's loans, which were in yen, became three times more expensive.
The import value in yen was also increased by up to three times.
"At that time, without my knowledge, Jaffar made the decision for Bank Negara to actively participate in forex trading to balance the currency's volatility and to protect the country's economy and reserves," Dr Mahathir said.
He said although he only found out about this later, he accepted the reason why it was done.
Dr Mahathir, who was the 24th witness called to testify at the RCI, was Malaysia's prime minister from 1981 until 2003.
Earlier Monday, his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah was seen in the public gallery during Tun Daim Zainuddin's testimony.
Daim was finance minister during Dr Mahathir's premiership.
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