This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 13, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Former defence minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has called the investigation against him and former officers in the Defence Ministry (Mindef) into the alleged loss of over RM500 million in land swap deals as a tactic to distract attention from the government’s problems.

“Go ahead, proceed with the investigation. For me this might just be another ploy to shift attention away from the weakness of the government's administration and the weakness of the ministers in their respective ministries,” he said at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

“They (the government) still want to bring back issues related to the former government, and in this case with my officers. It is not something new, I was accused before too,” Hishammuddin added.

Last month, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said in a statement that the Special Investigations Committee chaired by former auditor-general Ambrin Buang has found that there were losses in 16 land swap projects involving 1,286 hectares of Mindef’s land worth RM4.756 billion, and involving development costs of RM4.886 billion.

On Saturday, Deputy Defence Minister Liew Chin Tong was reported as saying that Hishammuddin’s former aides were also involved in the land swap deals.

“They never stop with their accusations that are sometimes baseless and unfounded, “ he said.  

“For now, I would like to say to Mat Sabu and Chin Tong; lead the country and show leadership. The security of the country is very important.