[Zunaid]

Senility Now

The Honorable Finance Minister Muhith's recent comments on the 4,000 crore Sonali Bank loan scam is yet another facepalm moment from the now veritably senile old man. Alas, poor Muhuth, I knew him yell.

In some Dhaka meeting he railled against the media for giving too much attention to the scam and accused them of harming the banking sector by publicizing it and tarnishing the image of the country. He said the amount was a trifle compared to the total amount of loans doled out by the bank.

Dear 'Economist' (and I am beginning to use this term loosely) Mr Muhith - let me do some math for you.

4000 crore takas = Almost 1/2 a billion dollars. Yes, you heard it right. Billion. As in 9 zeros. And dollars. Not Vietnamese Dongs.

As noted economist (I am not using this term loosely now) Debapriya Bhattacharya (distinguished fellow of the Center of Policy Dialog) commented - that is almost a quarter of the government's development budget for the poor.

So what should the media have done? Swept the crime this under the rug? My hats off to the press for persisting with this AND particularly the whistle blower who (see DS article of the day before) did what his duty was.

So Mr Muhith. Please wipe the drool off your cheeks, tighten your lungi, put on your chappal and head to your home and stay there. Enjoy your retirement.