The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, has announced that former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Idris Jala had completed his assignment to look into the Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) crisis within a week.
The RM13 billion FELDA/FGV scandal together with the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal are the two greatest financial scandals of the seven-year Najib premiership, which Najib had promised to bring about the best democracy in the world!
I call on Najib to act with similar despatch to resolve the 1MDB scandal, which has brought to Malaysia the infamy and ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”.
This can be done by Najib making public the findings of the 1MDB Special Task Force of the four Tan Sris which he disbanded in July 2015, for it is clear from hindsight that the 1MDB Special Task Force had done more work to get to the bottom of the 1MDB scandal than any other 1MDB probe – including the probes by the Auditor-General and the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee.
Najib had said that he wants the FGV crisis resolved within this Ramadan month based on three principles: adhere to laws governing the company; that it should comply with good governance; and that the decision arrived at should be fair.
Why is Najib not prepared to use these three principles of compliance with the law, the precepts of good governance and fairness to resolve the bigger 1MDB scandal – adding a fourth principle, in compliance with the principles of public integrity and transparency.
The 1MDB Special Task Force was recently brought to light when whistleblower, Sarawak Report website editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown said that the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar should have seen the documents about Najib’s payments of RM9.5 million to Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah for the latter’s role as prosecutor for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomhy II appeal before the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court.
Is this true?
The IGP should speak up on this matter, as he had lapsed into unusual silence.
The work done by the 1MDB Special Task Force comprising the four Tan Sris, who headed the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Bank Negara, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Police, must be salvaged and cannot be allowed to go to waste, as the Malaysian public have a right to know whether the 1MDB Special Task Force had decided on any prosecutions and the details of such proposed prosecutions.
(Media Conference Statement in Bandar Sri Alam, Johor Baru after visiting Pengkalan Rinting and Johor Jaya Bazaar Ramadan on Thursday, 15th June 2017 6 pm)
