May be the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of integrity, Paul Low, is right – the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) to be held in Putrajaya in September should go on as scheduled as Malaysia would be presenting a perfect and rare counter case study why the conference theme of “Ending Impunity: People, Integrity and Action” is so difficult or even impossible to achieve.
In fact, the 16th IACC, which has described itself as “world’s premier global forum for bringing together heads of state, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders to tackle the increasingly sophisticated challenge posed by corruption” should have a sub-theme of “The Mother of all Financial Scandals in Malaysia – the RM42 billion 1MDB Scandal”!
The 16th IACC is very lucky for it will have the special privilege and honour not only to have a major participant but the key player of 1MDB scandal to give the keynote address which will allow the 800 to 2,000 international participants an excellent opportunity to have special insights to discuss and dissect a live case example of the need to achieve the conference theme of “Ending Impunity: People, Integrity and Action” in the global fight against corruption.
In fact, not only the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak but the quartet of four Tan Sris who head the special task force, Attorney-General Gani Patail, Bank Negara Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamad should appear before the ICAC sessions to impart their experience and expertise to an international cionference as they must the only outfit in the world of subordinate officers investigating the No. One authority in government and nation, the Prime Minister.
As former Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Musa Hitam, conceded in his interview with The Malaysian Insider today, “An unprecedented thing is happening as a sitting prime minister is being investigated by a task force”.
Who believes that the four subordinate Tan Sris to Najib will be able to freely, independently and professionally carry out their investigation of the Prime Minister, even proposing that the Prime Minister should be removed and charged in court on corruption charges?
In fact, I have no doubt that if a vote is put to the IACC whether the participants approve of such an arrangement where a special task force of subordinates is established to investigate the Prime Minister in the fight against corruption, the vote must be a decisive and even unanimous “No”!
As the IACC never had such an “unprecedented” opportunity before and will never again have such an opportunity in the future of a Prime Minister who is personally and directly involved in a roiling financial scandal which is snowballing into a great national and international disaster and presenting of direct counter case study of how necessary but impossible to achieve the conference theme of “Ending Impunity: People, Integrity and Action”, the 16th IACC should make full use of this unprecedented opportunity.
I hope the Malaysian authorities will not back out of this global anti-corruption conference in Putrajaya with the Prime Minister as a rare guest speaker presenting his unique insights and experience on the conference theme.