The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, should end his “smoke and mirrors” game in the past few years, undermining the doctrine of separation of powers of the Executive, Parliament and the Judiciary, and announce in the King’s government policy speech at the official opening of Parliament tomorrow the formation of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 1MDB scandal which had given Malaysia the ignominy, infamy and iniquity of a global kleptoracy.
And to demonstrate to Malaysians and the world that the Malaysian Prime Minister has nothing to hide, that he is aboveboard and beyond reproach in the morass of 1MDB international money-laundering scandal, which had been described by the US Attorney-General as the world’s “worst kleptocracy”, and that he is open to investiglation by anyone, let him announce that the RCI into the 1MDB scandal would be headed by his new nemesis Tun Mahathir, and comprising Commissioners half of which would be nominated by Pakatan Harapan.
I have said that the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal has literally been “raining cats and dogs” worldwide with bad news for the Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Malaysian government since the seizure of the Bombadier jet in Singapore early February culminating in the seizure of Equanimity luxury super-yacht in Indonesia on Wednesday and in a CNBC special programme on “What happened to Malaysia’s 1MDB money” in the United States on March 1.
The latest instalment of the prolonged international “water torture” suffered by Malaysians is the report in the Wall Street Journal that a close ally of US President Donald Trump had sought millions from 1MDB mastermind Jho Low to influence the dropping of US Department of Justice (DoJ) investigations into the 1MDB scandal.
What is even more stunning is the new role of the Minister for Communications and Multimedia Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak as a spokesman, apologist and defender for Jho Low, claiming that there is no proof that the billion-ringgit Equanimity luxury yacht seized by the Indonesian authorities in Bali belonged to Jho Low, when Jho Low himself had as good as admitted to the ownership of Equanimity yacht
This has not only attracted the criticisms by Pakatan Harapan leaders, led by the Pakatan Harapan Chairman, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, but also by former UMNO Minister and current Special Adviser to the Malaysian Government on socio-cultural matters with ministerial status, Tan Sri Rais Yatim.
Rais had asked in a Twitter posting:
“Why so hasty in defending Jho Low? (He) should defend justice.”
The DOJ believes that at least US$4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB and is seeking to seize US$1.7 billion in assets allegedly acquired using the stolen funds.
The Swiss government is going to impound some US$400 million 1MDB-linked funds seized from several Swiss banks as the Malaysian government is not staking any claim for the monies, which would be against the “smoke and mirrors” strategy directed from Putrajaya.
In Singapore, four bank officials had been convicted, with one person jailed for 4 years and six months, for breaches related to the 1MDB scandal, while eight people were issued with prohibition orders from managing financial firms and advisory activities in the island republic.
Parliament should stop being Rip Van Winkle of world parliaments, sleeping while the whole world is awake to the global kleptocracy of the 1MDB scandal, and what better way to cleanse and purge Malaysia of the ignominy, infamy and iniquity of the 1MDB scandal than a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 1MDB scandal headed by Tun Mahathir?
(Media Statement in Gelang Patah on Sunday, 4th March 2018)