Will the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, give an assurance that the Malay Ruler’s statement of concern on national unity and harmony two days ago on Oct. 10, 2017 will not suffer the same fate as their previous statement two years ago on the 1MDB scandal, which was virtually ignored and disregarded.

The only reference, and a most indirect one, made by the Prime Minister to the Malay Rulers’ statement of concern on the 1MDB scandal was some three months later in Najib’s 2016 New Year Message on 31st December 2015 where Najib told Malaysians that his RM50 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion donation twin mega scandals had been resolved and were no more issues.

Najib could not be more wrong, as the past 21 months have shown that the 1MDB and Najib’s RM2.6 billion donation twin mega scandals have continued to haunt and hound Malaysians from various corners of the world.

As result, Malaysia has won the dubious distinction of being known worldwide as a “global kleptodcracy”!

On October 6, 2015, the Malay Rulers issued a rare joint statement and called on the Government to complete the investigation related to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) as soon as possible and take “the appropriate stern action” against all found to be implicated.
The Malay Rulers stressed that all concerned should extend “real and sincere” co-operation so that the 1MDB investigation achieves its objectives.

They said: “The findings of the investigation must be reported comprehensively and in a transparent manner so that the people will be convinced of the sincerity of the Government which shall not at all conceal facts and the truth.”

Issued by the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal, Datuk Seri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad, the Malay Rulers said they were worried that if the issue was not wisely handled and was allowed to drag on, it could jeopardise the country’s economy and the livelihood of the people.

They said: “Hence, the Malay Rulers remind all leaders to always adhere to the Rukun Negara principles of upholding the Constitution and the Rule of Law.

“To ensure that the Government enjoys the people’s trust, that leaders are respected, that political stability is guaranteed and that the economy continues to grow, all leaders must constantly ensure that justice is meted out equitably and transparently based on the law.”

The advice of the Malay Rulers on the 1MDB scandal had been completely disregarded and their concern ignored.

The Malay Rulers’ advice for “appropriate stern action” against all implicated in the 1MDB scandal were completely ignored in Malaysia while in other countries, former bankers were fined and even imprisoned for their role in the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal.

Except in Malaysia – the land of 1MDB!

No “real and sincere” co-operation was extended to the investigations into the 1MDB scandal in other countries, with the Attorney-General’s Chambers refusing to co-operate with foreign investigative bodies like the Swiss, the United States and Singapore, so that the full enormity of the kleptocratic 1MDB scam can be revealed.

The Malay Ruler’s call for “comprehensive” and “transparent” reporting of the 1MDB investigations so as not to “conceal the facts and the truth’ were stymied by the government’s classification of the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB presented to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament under the Official Secrets Act.

In sum, the wise counsel of the Malay Rulers that the 1MDB scandal be “wisely handled” and not be allowed to “drag on” to jeopardise the country’s economy and the livelihood of the people” were ignored.

The Rukunegara principles, the Constitution and the Rule of Law were not always adhered to – to the great detriment of public confidence in the government and international confidence in Malaysia.

As a result, the last 18 months were a tortuous period of infamy and ignominy for Malaysia with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic litigation to forfeit US$1.7 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Swizerland, first filed in California in July 2016 and updated in supplementary litigation in June 2017, together with the spate of prosecutions and criminal investigations in over half a dozen foreign countries, while the Malaysian Prime Minister was branded a “kleptocrat” and “MO1”.

Malaysia’s international good name, reputation and standing were repeatedly dragged through the mud with new revelations and developments of the monstrous 1MDB scandal in one country or other.

Two years have passed since the Malay Rulers’ statement calling for a quick end of the 1MDB scandal, but although the Royal Statement of Oct. 6, 2015 sparked a Citizrens’ Declaration signed by over a million Malaysians calling for Najib’s resignation as Prime Minister, the country is no closer to closure of the 1MDB scandal with full accountability and transparency, with the “culprits” brought to justice.

Can the “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptocracy” rally at Padang Timor, Petaling Jaya on Saturday organized by the Pakatan Harapan be an important milestone to bring the largest financial scandal in the nation’s history to a closure?