This is really flabbergasting. So keen is the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali to exonerate the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of any wrongdoing in the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal that Malaysia’s Public Prosecutor is even prepared to rely on the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir’s “reported statement” to declare that there is no need for further investigation into the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal, without even waiting for confirmation that Al-Jubeir had indeed exonerated the Malaysian Prime Minister!

Apandi should explain why he is prepared to rely on the “reported statement” by the Saudi foreign minister that the billions of ringgit deposited into Najib’s personal banking accounts were “a genuine donation” from Saudi Arabia “with nothing expected in return” without even confirming that the Saudi foreign minister had in fact made such a statement?

Furthermore, is it of no consequence to the Attorney-General that Al-Jubeir had made a U-turn on the very same issue as in early February, the Saudi Foreign Minister had told New York Times that he did not think the RM2.6 billion deposited into Najib’s personal bank accounts was a political donation, or that it originated from the Saudi government?
Instead, Al-Jubeir said the money was from an unspecified “investment”, even saying that it was from “a private Saudi citizen”.

Did Apandi seek an explanation from Al-Jubeir for his U-turn statement on the very same issue in a matter of two short months, to find out the reason for such a sudden change of mind?

Was Al-Jubeir telling a lie in early February? If the Saudi foreign minister could tell a lie in early February, what is there to stop him from lying in his latest statement?

Surely, these are relevant and pertinent questions for an Attorney-General before deciding that there is no need for further investigation into Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal?

Apandi’s decision-making process is particularly flabbergasting as he seems to dismiss the following two recent developments as completely irrelevant and inconsequential:

*The shock statement by Abu Dhabi’s state-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) to the London Stock Exchange on 11th April that neither itself nor its unit Aabar Investments PJS have any links to British Virgin Islands-incorporated firm Aabar Investments PJS Limited, which was fraudulently paid a least USD3.5 billion by 1MDB meant for the Abu Dhabi company.

*Wall Street Journal reports that the billions of ringgit amounting to some RM4.2 billion (and not just RM2.6 billion) deposited into Najib’s personal banking accounts, had come from the missing 1MDB billions of ringgit which had apparently been “wrongly paid” to the British Virgin Islands company, Aabar Investment PJS Limited!

It is indeed most extraordinary that while some 10 countries are conducting investigations into various aspects of Najib’s twin mega scandals, we have an Attorney-General whose first remit is NOT to probe into Najib’s RM2.6 billion (now elevated to RM4.2 billion) donation scandal but to maintain there is no need for any re-investigation!

Other countries seem to be more diligent and conscientious in wanting to investigate whether the Malaysian government had breached national and international laws against corruption, money-laundering and a host of dubious financial malpractices, while the Attorney-General’s Chambers in Malaysia is blissfully unconcerned! Can Apandi explain why?
We are making some progress in the unearthing of Najib’s twin mega scandals – the RM50 billion 1MDB and RM4.2 billion “donation” scandals.

The PAC Report on 1MDB tabled in Parliament on 7th April, though not fully satisfactorily in its findings and conclusions, is one major step forward as it has at least achieved one thing: the host of 1MDB scams, deals, dubious loans and transactions which had appeared in foreign newspapers like Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times and the London Sunday Times and the whistleblower website Sarawak Report in the past year cannot now be dismissed as “unverified” or “speculative” reports not worthy of attention, because PAC Report on 1MDB have confirmed their truth and veracity.

Before Al-Jubier exonerated Najib of any wrongdoing in the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal, Najib’s Ministers like Datuk Azalina Said Othman, Datuk Salleh Said Keruak, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan and Khairy Jamaluddun have already exonerated Najib of any wrongdoing.

Why should Al-Jubier’s statement be accepted as gospel truth without need for verification or truth-testing – when Malaysians do not take Ministerial statements whether by Azalina, Salleh, Abdul Rahman and Khairy as gospel truth?

The most important question now is for AG Apandi to explain why he regards the Saudi Foreign Minister’s statement as gospel truth and is even prepared to rely on the “reported statement” by Saudi foreign minister to justify no further investigation on Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal?