This is the RCI season, with a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) probing into the Bank Negara forex losses a quarter of a century ago, while the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is toying with another RCI of even longer vintage – the Memali Tragedy on Nov. 19, 1985 or 32 years ago – which claimed 18 lives, four of whom were police personnel.

RCI are useful instruments to discover the truth and promote transparency, accountability and good governance.

Similarly, national institutions like Parliament, Judiciary, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC0), Bank Negara and the Auditor-General’s Office have important national purposes and roles to play provided they, like RCI, do not become victims of misuse and abuse of power – not to promote the truth, accountability, transparency and good governance but become the political playthings and power play by the Prime Minister and the incumbent establishment against political opponents.

I call for the immediate establishment of three Royal Commissions of Inquiry, viz:

Firstly, into the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal which had given the country the biggest and longest-running black-eye to our reputation and standing in the international community, as we are now regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”; with the Prime Minister known as the “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” (“MO1”) in the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s largest kleptocratic civil litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion of 1MDB-linked assets money-laundered through American banks; so as to clear or cleanse the nation of the infamy and ignominy involved when Malaysia is regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”;

Secondly, a no-holds-barred Royal Commission of Inquiry into the tens of billions of ringgit of FGV and FELDA losses by over 100,000 Felda settlers, and the RCI should also inquire into Najib’s responsibility in allowing such financial losses and scandals in the past five years; and

Thirdly, what happened in Government in the last week of July, 2015, when the country was awash with rumours that the Attorney-General would charge the Prime Minister, Najib for corrupt practices in connection with 1MDB scandal but suddenly on Nov. 28, 2015, Najib went on to the offensive and the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail was sacked, Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali resigned from the Federal Court and was sworn in as Attorney-General, the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was sacked, and the national institutions like the AG’s Chambers, the Police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Bank Negara were defanged and tamed with the dissolution of the high-powered Special Task Force of four Tan Sris on 1MDB.

The Malaysian people are entitled to know the whats and whys of the tumultous events in Government in the last week of July, 2015 which saved Najib’s premiership.

Unless Najib is prepared to establish these three RCIs into these three pressing issues, which are of current and immediate concern to Malaysians and the world, Malaysians can only conclude that Najib is abusing his powers as Prime Minister to establish RCIs on old and historic issues as a political tool to keep his political opponents at bay and save his premiership by the most undemocratic and underhanded means.

(Speech at the launch of the Pakatan Harapan Kelantan by Chairman of Pakatan Harapan, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in Machang on Friday, 25th August 2017 at 10 am)