The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak this evening welcomed the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali’s exoneration of any wrongdoing by him in the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal, and said that “the cases have been closed” and that its time for Malaysia to “move on”.

Just as Najib had been proven wrong when he declared in his 2016 New Year Message that his world-class twin mega scandals, which caused Malaysia to be ranked third in the world’s “worst corruption scandals in 2015”, had been resolved and were no more issues in the country, the Prime Minister cannot be more wrong when he said that the cases of his world-class “twin mega scandals” had been closed and that the country could now “move on”.

I cannot think of another case in the nation’s history where the Attorney-General’s decision in a high-profile matter like Najib’s world-class twin mega scandals had been greeted with more skepticism, outrage and scorn, not only locally but in international circles, as the announcement by Apandi yesterday that no charges would be brought against the Prime Minister based on the investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in the RM2.6 billion political donation and RM42 million from SRC International transferred into Najib’s personal bank accounts.

It is no exaggeration to say that public esteem and credibility for the office of the Attorney-General had never fallen so low in the 58-year history of the nation as yesterday.

Apart from his dubious decision to exonerate Najib of any wrongdoing in the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal and the transfer of RM42 million from SRC International to his personal bank accounts, despite the possibility of the taint being caught in a embarrassing “conflict-of-interest” situation, Apandi’s announcement that Najib had returned US$620 million to the Saudi royal family who were the original donor raised national doubts about the AG’s credibility to new lows.

To put it most mildly, the AG is taking Malaysians as a nation of fools and simpletons if he expects his bald statements that the RM2.6 billion was “a personal donation from the Saudi royal family given to him (Najib) without any consideration” and that Najib had returned US$620 million from the US$681 million (RM2.6 billion) in August 2013 to be accepted without any questions.

Let me tell Apandi: Produce proof that Najib had returned US$620 million to Saudi royal family and what happened to the remainder of the US$41million in Najib’s RM2.6 billion donation scandal if Apandi wants his version to be believed.

Or has Apandi no proof whatsoever for the above two transactions? If so, the competence and professionalism of Apandi as Attorney-General comes under immediate question!

Najib was being very naïve to believe that the cases of his world-class twin mega scandals were closed and the country could move on, when in fact, his RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal has become even bigger than in the past as the Attorney-General’s statement yesterday has spawned even more questions, including the credibility of the claim that Najib had returned RM2.03 billion to the Saudi royal family two months after the May 2013 general election.

For over six months after the Wall Street Journal expose on July 2 last year, Najib was criticized, castigated and crucified locally and internationally for the RMRM2.6 billion “donation” into his personal banking accounts.

Was Najib such a masochist as to enjoy the intense pain from such a flagellation on his image and character?

Why didn’t Najib let it be known that in fact, he had returned RM2.03 billion to the Saudi royal family, two months after the May 2013 general election?

The Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, never knew that RM2.6 billion had been deposited into Najib’s personal banking accounts, and until he was sacked as DPM on 28th July 2015, never knew that Najib had returned R$M2.03 billion to the Saudi royal family.

The new Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi also never knew that Najib had returned RM2.03 billion to the Saudi royal family, as he conspicuously omitted such a reference when he said publicly in August that he had met the representatives of the “donor from the Middle East”, who told him that the RM2.6 billion donation was “a sign of thanks for Malaysia’s fight against terrorism”.

No mention whatsoever that RM2.03 billion had in fact been returned to the original donor as far back as August 2013! Why?

What type of a democratic government do we have in Malaysia where the Prime Minister had no trust of the past and present Deputy Prime Minister as not to let them know that he had returned RM2.03 billion donation as far back as August 2013?

The Prime Minister and the Attorney-General must realized that the exoneration of any wrongdoing by Najib for the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal is a high-water mark not for upholding of the Rule of Law, but the degeneration and desecration of the Rule of Law in Malaysia.

The Attorney-General’s shocking and outrageous decision to exonerate the Prime Minister of any wrongdoing in to the RM2.6 billion “donation” and the RM42 million SRC International scandals is the end of the sorry saga of Najib’s donation scandal, but only the opening of a new chapter.

Malaysians are still awaiting for Najib to give full and satisfactory accountability for this world-class twin mega scandals.

Would he convene a Special Parliament next month to show the country and the world that there is no cause to doubt the integrity of the Malaysian Prime Minister by allowing a full parliamentary debate on his full and satisfactory accountability for the world-class twin mega scandals?

(Speech at the Parti Amanah Negara ceramah in Labis to mark the launching of Labis AMANAH on Tuesday, 26th January 2016 at 9 pm)