The wife of Prime Minister, Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor herself raised the subject of her diamond collection from the 1MDB scandal.
Speaking to BN women members in Lembah Pantai yesterday, she accused PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli of attempting to trap her husband, caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, and her over the diamond ring issue.
She said that Rafizi only told “half the story and half-truths”.
Rosmah maintained that she had only viewed the ring but did not purchase it.
She said; “You want to know about the ring? They (critics) said I have a ring but they sometimes say it’s USD8 million, USD16 million, USD24 million and even USD86 million.
“I said you better decide how much my ring is. They talk about things they don’t know.
“(When they brought in the ring) it was only meant for viewing, not for purchasing. So I looked at it and said it was very nice. But I said ‘you better send it back’.”
Malaysians must thank Rosmah for reminding them about the diamond ring, as I believe most Malaysians have forgotten about it. What they remember is the infamous US$27.3 million (RM144 million) 22-carat rare pink diamond set in a necklace, which the US Department of Justice alleged was bought by Malaysian billionaire, Low Taek Jho or Jho Low, the other “king pin” of the 1MDB scandal, with stolen 1MDB money for the wife of “Malaysian Official 1” (MO1).
We must thank the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and the director of Barsian Nasional Strategic Communications Unit, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan for admitting to the whole world in a BBC interview that “MO1” is none other than Najib Razak and therefore the beneficiary of the US$27.3 million 22-carat pink diamond necklace is none other than Rosmah Mansor.
Why did Rosmah Manson talk about the USD8 million diamond ring and not about the USD27.3 22-carat pink diamond necklace?
Rosmah’s silence on the pink diamond necklace does nor cast her in a favourable light, and since she has spoken up on the USD8 million diamond ring issue, let us hear from her on the USD27.3 million pink diamond necklace expose.
If Pakatan Harapan forms the Malaysian Government in Putrajaya on May 9, we will demand the return to Malaysians all the ill-gotten gains from the 1MDB proceeds, including the auctioning of the USD23.7 million pink diamond necklace and the RM1 billion Equanimity luxury superyacht impounded in Bali in February.
(Speech at DAP Bakri General Election Preparatory Dinner in Muar on Friday, 20th April 2018 at 8 pm)