Is it possible for a top public servant to destroy his public standing and repute, even his professionalism, with one act or statement?
Yes, and the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun, has furnished such an example with his statement last night that “nothing to link Jho Low with IMDB”, which made him the laughing stock of his police peers in the world and Malaysia the laughing stock of the international community.
For over three years, Malaysians were looked askance when travelling overseas firstly, because Malaysia was regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy and secondly, the refusal of the Malaysian authorities and people to do anything to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the infamy, ignominy and iniquity of a global kleptocracy – to the extent that the 1MDB scandal, the primary cause for Malaysia’s epithet of a global kleptocracy, is not allowed to be freely raised and debated even in Parliament itself!
For over three years, informed Malaysians and citizens of the world know that Jho Low is one mastermind of the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB money-laundering scandal, which has caused Malaysia to be regarded as a global kleptocracy – and the nation’s Inspector-General of Police now want the nation and the world to believe that there is “nothing to link Jho Low with 1MDB”!
All that the IGP needs to do find the nexus between Jho Low and 1MDB is to interview the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who as Chairman of the 1MDB Board of Advisers exercised the final power on all important decision in 1MDB.
Has the Police interviewed Najib about 1MDB and had Najib denied that there were any links between Jho Low and 1MDB? This will indeed be international news of the first order.
I do not know why recently, government leaders, including Ministers and Deputy Ministers, have a special knack to make Malaysia look very bad in the world – like the Communications and Multimedia Minister, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak declaring that there is no evidence that the billion-ringgit luxury yacht Equanimity is owned by Jho Low, the declaration by the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Razali Ismail challenging the claim that the Equanimity superyacht was bought using 1MDB funds and a senior BN MP declaring in Parliament that the claim that Equanimity belongs to a Malaysian is “fake news”.
Can the Prime Minister speak up to throw light on the 1MDB matters before things get murkier and Malaysians have to hang their heads further down in shame and humiliation over the 1MDB scandal and Malaysia as a global kleptocracy?
(Media Statement in Parliament on Thursday, 8th March 2018)