The hour-long questioning of DAP National Publicity Secretary and MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua, by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for his two Facebook postings after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) legal suits to forfeit over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States under the US Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative 2010 raises two important public-interest questions:

Firstly, whether the question “Who is ‘MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1’” mentioned 36 times in the 136-page 513-paragraph DOJ complaint as one of the kingpins of the global multi-billion ringgit 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption is a crime; and

Secondly, whether speculation from the various identification given in the DOJ complaint on “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” that the person referred to could only be Prime Minister Najib Razak although no name was mentioned is a heinous crime in Malaysia?

Malaysians do not want their Prime Minister to be mockingly referred to as “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” or “MO1”, whether in local or international circles, which immediately brings to mind the image of Malaysia as the top “kleptocracy” in the world and the DOJ legal action on the global scandal of the multi-billion dollar 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption. Read the rest of this entry »