Archive for category Financial Scandals
How 1MDB lost RM6 bil through bond mispricing
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Saturday, 26 December 2015
BY KINIBIZ
DECEMBER 16, 2015 8:00AM
1MDB has already lost some RM6 billion by mispricing its bonds. So was this deliberately done, and whose pockets ended up bursting at the seams?
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A big chunk of 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) fundraising over the years had been through issuing bonds. However, the company had been massively underpricing its bonds, losing some RM6 billion according to KINIBIZ estimates – and this is not paper but real, cold, hard cash.
When a bond is issued, it has a coupon rate and a face value. The coupon rate typically remains constant over the life of the bond and is a promise by the issuer to pay a certain percentage of the face value of the bond each year.
Bonds are commonly priced to give roughly similar yields as other comparable bonds in the open market. Yields are the annual coupon payments for the year divided by the price of the bond. Yields are adjusted by raising or lowering the bond price – they move in opposite directions.
Read the rest of this entry »
The colourful family and friends of 1MDB
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, General, Najib Razak on Friday, 25 December 2015
BY KHAIRIE HISYAM | KiniBiz
DECEMBER 15, 2015 8:00AM
From its inception to the present-day state of disarray, 1MDB counts an interesting – and colourful – group of people who are either directly involved in its operations or who are linked to the company in some manner.
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Controversial 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has a “triple-tier” corporate governance structure, with a board of advisors chaired by the prime minister himself in addition to having a board of directors overseeing the senior management team.
That adds another shade of perplexing contradiction in light of the company’s dodgy dealings and controversial decisions in the past. KINIBIZ examines in no particular order some important characters involved:
Jho Low, the dealmaker Read the rest of this entry »
Anatomy of a money-spinner
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Thursday, 24 December 2015
BY P. GUNASEGARAM | Kinibiz
DECEMBER 14, 2015 8:00AM
The very setting up of 1MDB and its operations was aimed at spinning billions out of this self-styled strategic development company owned by the government for the benefit of various others. The eventual cost of this to the country might be as high as RM42 billion.
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[Note to readers: This article and the associated charts provide an overview map of our coverage of 1MDB, and attempt to link the various parts to the whole. The information for the series is obtained from various sources both public and private and includes reported content elsewhere and others from our own sources, which we believe to be accurate. Figures have been rounded off where it makes things clearer.]
Even before it became 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), it was mired in controversy as Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) in 2009, Terengganu’s very own sovereign wealth fund. TIA was to be kickstarted with a RM5 billion bond issue guaranteed by the federal government.
Read the rest of this entry »
Was Hasan Arifin speaking for PAC or only for himself about being “satisfied” with Arul Kanda’s testimony on 1MDB, and if the former, was a vote taken of the PAC members whether they are “satisfied” with Arul’s evidence?
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Media, Najib Razak, Parliament on Saturday, 19 December 2015
On the way to the launch of the Perak State Pakatan Harapan in Ipoh from a DAP dinner at Chuichak new village, I read that after its meeting today, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin issued a statement saying that he is satisfied with 1MDB president Arul Kanda Kandasamy’s explanation after a three-hour grilling.
I find Hasan’s statement most shocking as it contradicted the earlier statement by Tony Pua, the PAC member who is most knowledgeable about 1MDB, who had said that Arul Kanda’s answers were “not perfect” and “incomplete” and that the 1MDB president had evaded certain questions.
When Hasan said he was “satisfied” with Arul Kanda’s explanations at the continued PAC investigations into the 1MDB, was this a reflection of his “cari makan” mode of operation or did he take a vote from the PAC after Arul Kanda’s testimony to determine whether the PAC was “satisfied” with the 1MDB CEO’s testimony?
If Hasan had not taken a vote of PAC after Arul Kanda’s testimony, and merely given his own views, he was guilty of misleading Members of Parliament and the Malaysian public who have been following the PAC proceedings with great interest and anticipation.
The Malaysian public does not want the views of a “cari makan” PAC Chairman but the views of the PAC as determined by a vote as to whether PAC is satisfied with Arul Kanda’s testimony. Read the rest of this entry »
Abdul Rahman can only play with tweets as he has no input on the two seismic developments in the country – Najib’s galloping twin mega scandals and his courtship of Hadi and PAS leadership
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, PAS, Sarawak on Friday, 18 December 2015
My commiseration with Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan.
He is feeling so lonely and forlorn after he thought he has clambered up the mountain to deserve a special place next to the “The Chosen One”.
What a disappointment for him to find that he had been replaced or overtaken by others, even by a “political junior” from his home state, who have gone ahead to become the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, a position which is more important and higher on the political protocol than his recent sinecure as the Barisan Nasional Director of Strategic Communications (whatever that means).
I stand by what I said about him on July 24, 2015:
“Minister for Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan will be guilty of the greatest national disservice if the sole agenda of his appointment as Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director is to distract attention from Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) July 2 report that Malaysian government investigators have found US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) deposited into the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal accounts in AmBank in 2013 just before the 13th General Election instead of helping to establish the facts of the Prime Minister’s alleged RM2.6 billion personal accounts.
“Since his sudden appearance as BN Strategic Communications Director the previous Wednesday, Rahman had got so much eggs on his face, and on a daily basis, that it is virtually impossible to find a centimeter on his face which is not egg-splattered – whether because of Rahman’s “God-send” Lester Melyani; Lester’s utterly discredited video confession even before all the parts had been aired publicly; the crazy and counter-productive notion for Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to block access to Sarawak Report (forcing Malaysians to undergo an instant education of how to circumvent official Internet blocks) or the hyping of patriotic and valiant efforts to pry open the RM42 billion 1MDB financial scandal whether by journalists in the Edge or by MPs like Tony Pua and Rafizi Ramli as offences like ‘activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy’, sabotage, ‘toppling the elected government’ or even treason!”
Adenan Satem’s speech no more an unqualified endorsement but indication of the Sarawak Chief Minister’s wavering support for Najib as Prime Minister of Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Sarawak on Thursday, 17 December 2015
The Sarawak Chief Minster, Datuk Adenan Satem, made headlines on Internet news this evening with his speech in the Sarawak State Assembly that Sarawak Barisan Nasional is prepared to reconsider its loyalty to Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak if he latter is found to have committed wrongdoings in relation to 1MDB.
He told the Sarawak State Assembly: “I can give you assurance that if he is found guilty of 1MDB-related offences, then we might reconsider our loyalty to him.”
Adenan’s speech created waves because he sounded so brave, daring and independent, unlike the other servile and supine BN Chief Ministers, Mentri Besar or Ministers, in being prepared to draw a line with the Prime Minister if Najib is found guilty of wrongdoing in connection with the 1MDB controversy.
But further thought will show that such reactions are misplaced.
In the first place, is Adenan suggesting that there is a possibility that he and Sarawak Barisan Nasional will continue to be loyal to Najib as the Prime Minister of Malaysia and Chairman of Barisan Nasional even if Najib is found guilty of offences and wrongdoings related to the 1MDB controversy?
I would have thought that if Najib had been found guilty of offences in connection with 1MDB by any court of law, this would automatically mean forfeiture of all loyalty to Najib as Prime Minister and BN Chairman not just by Adenan or Sarawak BN but by all the other BN leaders in other states and even nationally.
Is there any room for doubt that this would be the case?
Secondly, the political facts of life of Malaysia will ensure that so long as he is Prime Minister, Najib will never be found guilty of wrongdoing or offences in connection with 1MDB by any court of law.
Adenan’s brave statement therefore means nothing at all, what Shakespeare said about “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”! Read the rest of this entry »
Najib must learn quick and fast that there is no way to resolve his grave problem of trust deficit unless he gives full and satisfactory accountability on his twin mega scandals
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Media, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 16 December 2015
Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s trust deficit, already lowest for any Prime Minister among all racial groups in the nation’s 58 year history, continued to nose-dive after the UMNO General Assembly, with over a dozen adverse developments and stories keeping Najib’s twin mega scandals alive and kicking in the past three days.
There were six such adverse stories in the last 24 hours in Malaysiakini, viz:
1. PM’s flirtation with gaming world draws scorn
2. Australian court shuts down 1MDB-linked funds
3. Delay in handing over auditor-general’s 1MDB report to PAC
4. To uncover 1MDB truth, cross examine Najib in court – by Nurul Izzah and Tian Chua.
5. The colourful family and friends of 1MDB
6. Malaysian police record Justo’s statement in Bangkok
A day earlier there were two news reports about former MCA President Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik legal entanglements with Najib’s over the latter’s twin mega scandals, about Najib’s claim against Ling and Ling’s counter-claim against Najib, and the former MCA President’s accusation that Najib had not instituted the legal suit against Ling with the genuine intention to seek legal redress, or Najib should have sued all UMNO leaders, past and present, who have criticised him, such as Tun Mahathir as well as Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysians do not want to hear from Zahid or even the MACC – they want Najib himself to stop procrastinating and prevaricating and to give full and satisfactory accountability on the RM2.6 billion “donation” and RM55 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament on Saturday, 12 December 2015
Malaysians do not want to hear from the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi or even by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), as they want the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself to stop procrastinating and prevaricating and to give full and satisfactory accountability on the RM2.6 billion “donation” and RM55 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals.
Having misled the nation and Members of Parliament to wait for six weeks for the last day of Parliament on Dec. 3 to answer all questions about the twin mega scandals, Najib should not disappoint Malaysians a second time – and his winding-up speech at the UMNO General Assembly later today is the last opportunity for him to come clean on the RM2.6 billion “donation” and 1MDB scandals.
The 1MDB scandal went back to more than six years ago, when 1MDB was incorporated in 2009 after its precursor, Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), was turned into a federal agency, with the unprecedented Clause 117 in the 1MDB’s Memorandum and Articles of Association requiring the Prime Minister’s written approval for any of 1MDB’s deals, including the firm’s investments or any bid for restructuring, amendments to the company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association and appointments and removal of directors and senior management team of 1MDB.
The RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal is more recent, going back to March 2013, just before the 13th General Election on May 5, 2013, but awareness in the corridors of power that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark” did not begin only on July 2 this year when Wall Street Journal shook the country and the world with the scoop about the RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal banking accounts in March 2013, but much earlier. Read the rest of this entry »
On RM2.6b, Najib’s answers beg more questions
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Kee Thuan Chye, Najib Razak on Friday, 11 December 2015
Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysiakini
11th December 2-15
COMMENT There’s something not right about Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s revelation on national television on Dec 8 that he did receive RM2.6 billion from donors.
In fact, it was even laughable to hear him say that the donors wanted the money to be deposited in his personal account.
“Yes, that was the donor’s wish,” he said. “The donation was made to me personally, that is why the account is under my name.”Is Najib that naïve? He allowed the donors to dictate that despite the risk of the money being easily traced to him?
If you recall, when The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) came out with its report about the RM2.6 billion last July, even Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan responded that no prime minister would be that stupid to have such a huge amount deposited into his personal account.
And that’s Ahmad Maslan, mind you. Read the rest of this entry »
The AGM of UMNO also known as 1MDB is here to entertain you!
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, UMNO on Thursday, 10 December 2015
By Martin Jalleh
Can Najib explain why he dared to explain the RM2.6 billion “donation” and 1MDB twin mega scandals in a tame and orchestrated interview with UMNO media and at closed-door UMNO meetings but not in Parliament in the presence of Pakatan Harapan MPs and critics?
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament on Wednesday, 9 December 2015
Last night, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak broke his silence on the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal which had been dogging him and his government for the past five months in an exclusive interview with UMNO media, conducted by Media Prima Bhd group managing editor of news and current affairs Mohd Ashraf Abdullah, the New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Bhd group managing editor Abdul Jalil Hamid and Utusan Group editor-in-chief Abdul Aziz Ishak.
Najib said that the donation of RM2.6 billion deposited into his account is neither from a public fund nor the government’s strategic investment company, 1MDB, that it was the donor’s wish that the funds were deposited into his account and that the donation was made in a personal capacity.
Najib’s explanation on the twin mega scandals leaves open a thousand-and-one other questions, but the most important issue is why Najib dared to explain about the RM2.6 billion “donation” and 1MDB twin mega scandals in a tame and orchestrated interview with UMNO media and at closed-door UMNO meetings but not in Parliament in the presence of Pakatan Harapan MPs and critics?
Why did Najib run away from Parliament on the last day of the budget Parliamentary meeting last Thursday, after fobbing off some 90 questions from Pakatan Harapan MPs in the 25-day parliamentary session with the promise right from the very first day of Parliament on Oct. 19 that all the questions about the twin mega scandals would be answered in “one go” on the last day of the Parliamentary meeting? Read the rest of this entry »
Let Najib clarify in his UMNO Presidential Address at the UMNO General Assembly whether he is the first Malaysian Prime Minister to be investigated by the FBI as to whether he is a ‘kleptocrat’
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament, UMNO on Monday, 7 December 2015
Should Pakatan Harapan MPs from DAP, PKR and Parti Amanah Negara who have been in the forefront demanding full and satisfactory accountability from the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak for his twin mega scandals on RM2.6 billion “donation” and RM50 billion 1MDB go on their bended knees and thank their lucky stars that the Prime Minister was so merciful and spared them the agony and shame of an expose on the last day of the 25-day parliamentary meeting last Thursday (Dec. 3)?
This is because Najib said last night that the opposition spews nothing but “lies” on 1MDB (auta bukan fakta), declaring: “It they (the opposition) attack us using logic, rational thinking and facts, they will lose. It’s now the battle of the minds.”
If Najib is right, and the Prime Minister had appeared in Parliament on the last day of the budget parliamentary meeting on Dec. 3 to lay down the facts of the two scandals, all the Pakatan Harapan MPs who had been harping them would have been mercilessly exposed not only as opportunists, charlatans and even ignoramus.
However, before deciding whether the Pakatan Harapan MPs should be thankful for such little mercies from Najib, they must ask why the Prime Minister was so kind to them, if it was true that it would be so easy for him to squash the Opposition MPs who had been raising a storm particularly since March about the 1MDB scandal? Read the rest of this entry »
Parliament inflicted three black eyes on itself in one day – quite a feat!
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Human Rights, Najib Razak, Parliament on Friday, 4 December 2015
It’s quite a feat – Parliament inflicted three black eyes on itself in one day!
Yesterday was one of the darkest days in the history of the 56-year Parliament in Malaysia, for in one day, it scaled a new height of shame and dishonour with a trio of disgraceful parliamentary episodes, viz:
• The “cop-out” in the three-minute Ministerial statement by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi dismissing some 90 parliamentary questions about Najib’s RM2.6 billion and RM50 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals in the 25-day budget parliamentary meeting;
• The petty and spiteful persecution of PKR Vice Chairman and MP for Lembah Pantai, Nurul Izzah Anwar virtually convicting her of disloyalty and treason to Malaysia, and referring her to the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges under terms of reference which can only allow the Committee to propose the “commensurate” penalties to be meted out to her; and
• What has been fittingly described by a former Malaysian ambassador as “the final step in the Zimbabweisation of Malaysia”.
It is to the eternal shame of Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia that so many shameful and disgraceful records could be set by the Malaysian Parliament in one day under his Speakership! Read the rest of this entry »
Zahid’s three-minute statement on Najib’s RM2.6 billion donation in his personal banking accounts the greatest cop-out in Parliament in nation’s history
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament on Thursday, 3 December 2015
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi’s three-minute statement on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM2.6 billion donation in his personal banking accounts is the greatest cop-out in Parliament in the nation’s history.
What happened in Parliament this morning will go down in the Malaysian parliamentary annals as another disgraceful episode as to why parliamentary reform is urgently needed – but meaningful parliamentary reforms cannot come from “sweet words” from the Speaker’s Chair but only from restoration of the doctrine of separation of powers among the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary.
Parliament was made to commit a most cowardly and unchilvarous act today – to blow up the Nurul-Jacel photograph incident in the hope of covering up Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal.
Clearly, the UMNO/BN Government needed desperately to distract attention from Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal, especially as national and international attention had been building up for weeks to expect the Prime Minister to give a full and satisfactory accounting of his RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal today, the last day of the 25-day six-week parliamentary budget meeting.
What better distraction for Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal than the furore over the outrageous motion to convict the PKR Vice President and MP for Lembah Pantai, Nurul Izzah Anwar, of the heinous charge of breach of oath as an MP “to bear true faith and allegiance to Malaysia” and to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution” and to refer her to the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges for the penalties to be meted out. Read the rest of this entry »
Azalina would have committed hara-kiri or seppuku in Parliament today if she upholds the bushido code of honour above life
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament on Thursday, 3 December 2015
Datuk Azalina Othman Said would have committed hara-kiri or seppuku in Parliament today if she upholds the bushido code of honour above life.
This is because the Order Paper in the last sitting of Parliament today – ending the 25-day six-week parliamentary budget meeting – proves that Azalina had been caught out committing the unparliamentary and dishonourable act of telling outright lies as Minister responsible for Parliamentary Affairs.
On the very first day of the current meeting of Parliament on Oct. 19, Azalina evaded the questions by DAP Members of Parliament, Lim Guan Eng (Bagan) and Lim Lip Eng (Segambut), and said in written reply that the government would answer questions about the RM2.6 billion “donation” received by Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and other related questions during the current meeting of Parliament.
However, Azalina said the exact date for this would be determined later.
Guan Eng had asked Najib on the source of the RM2.6 billion donation, how was it spent and how much balance is left; who the money was spent on, if taxes were paid and if there was a formal declaration.
Lip Eng’s question with regard to the donation and the missing US$1 billion payment to International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC) also received the same reply.
Then, in an act of great “benevolence” and “magnanimity”, Azalina told the media on Nov. 5 that the Prime Minister or a Minister will explain on the last day of the parliamentary meeting on Dec. 3 on the controversial RM2.6 billion donation that went into Najib’s personal bank accounts. Read the rest of this entry »
Hasan Arifin should let Dr. Tan Seng Giaw head PAC probe into 1MDB as he is too keen to demonstrate his “cari makan” characteristics
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament on Wednesday, 2 December 2015
Datuk Hasan Arifin is too keen to demonstrate his “cari makan” characteristics to be a suitable Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman heading the PAC probe into Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1MDB scandal.
He should make way for the Deputy PAC Chairman Dr. Tan Seng Giaw to head the PAC inquiry into the 1MDB scandal so that the PAC inquiry would not be sullied by his “cari makan” propensities.
Hasan exhibited such a “cari makan” propensity yesterday when he jumped the gun and declared that he was “satisfied” with the testimony given by the 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy to the PAC, although Arul had not completed his testimony nor did Hasan had the authority of the PAC to declare publicly that the PAC was satisfied with Arul’s testimony. Read the rest of this entry »
The meaning of Nancy Shukri’s answer on 1MDB probe is that there will be no outcome on 1MDB investigations so long as Najib is the Prime Minister of Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Parliament on Monday, 30 November 2015
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri has given a very convoluted reply to the parliamentary question on the progress of the Special Task Force to investigate into the 1MDB.
Saying that the Special Task Force is still investigating the 1MDB, Nancy said there is no time frame set for the investigations as there are many witnesses and documents to obtain, some of which are overseas.
She said the probe will be completed after the statements of all witnesses are recorded and all related documents obtained.
Once it is done, the report will be tabled to Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali for further action.
Does any MP or anyone for that matter really understand what Nancy is actually trying to say in her convoluted reply?
The long and short of Nancy’s convoluted reply is that there will be no outcome on the 1MDB probe, so long as Najib is the Prime Minister of Malaysia – and make no mistake, this applies to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as well, which explains the three-month derailment of continued PAC investigation into 1MDB in August, my six-month suspension from Parliament and the new PAC Chairman, Datuk Hasan Arifin’s disarmingly frank admission that he had to “cari makan” when asked why Najib was not called as a star witness in the PAC probe into 1MDB. Read the rest of this entry »
Kulai is the 28th Parliamentary and Senai the 30th State Assembly constituency I am visiting in the “Solidarity with Lim Kit Siang & Mana RM2.6 billion?” nation-wide campaign since my six-month suspension from Parliament
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Johore, Najib Razak on Saturday, 28 November 2015
I thank the people of Senai State Assembly constituency in Kulai parliamentary seat for their support this morning.
Kulai is the 28th Parliamentary and Senai the 30th State Assembly constituency I am visiting in the “Solidarity with Lim Kit Siang & Mana RM2.6 billion?” nation-wide campaign since my six-month suspension from Parliament on Oct. 22 – not because I had stolen, robbed or killed anyone, but because as elected representatives, we have the right and obligation to speak up in Parliament and the State Assemblies without fear or favour to articulate the concerns of Malaysians.
Undoubtedly today, one of the greatest concerns in everyone’s minds, even to the Malay Rulers who issued a rare joint statement on the 1MDB scandal on Oct. 6, are the two questions: where the RM2.6 billion “donation” in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak personal banking accounts came from, and where they have gone to. Read the rest of this entry »
Call for an international investigation into the murder of DPP Kevin Morais following the shock statutory declaration by his brother Charles who raised many disturbing questions
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Crime, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Thursday, 26 November 2015
Next week is the last week of the 25-day parliamentary budget meeting, and there are no signs that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak will come clean and give a full and satisfactory accounting of his twin mega scandals in the last four days of the six-week parliamentary meeting from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3.
Those who had hoped that the RM2.6 billion “donation” and RM50 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals, now that the ASEAN and Post-ASEAN Summits with the largest-ever gathering of Asia-Pacific leaders in Kuala Lumpur in recent times had been held without any mishap, will somehow disappear or fade away by the time the UMNO General Assemblies are held from Dec. 8 to 12, 2015 cannot be more wrong.
Firstly, Najib’s twin mega scandals had haunted and hounded the ASEAN and Post-ASEAN Summits in Kuala Lumpur last weekend.
There is no doubt that Najib’s twin mega scandals featured prominently in their own internal briefings of every ASEAN and Asian-Pacific leader who was in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend, receiving their personal attention even though not a single one of the ASEAN and Asian-Pacific leaders would have committed the diplomatic faux pax of breathing a word of Najib’s twin mega scandals in public.
This was why one commentator entitled a round-up of the ASEAN Summit with the heading: “ASEAN summit tarnished by Malaysian corruption scandal involving PM”. Read the rest of this entry »
1MDB fire sale reeks of desperation
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 24 November 2015
by Khairie Hisyam
Kinibiz
November 24 2015
The open secret that 1MDB is selling off its power assets to foreign hands is now out, and now all eyes are on its attempts to divest a majority stake in its Bandar Malaysia project. The entire exercise reeks of the desperation that is driving the company.
On Nov 23, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) finally made an unsurprising announcement: China General Nuclear (CGN) has won the bidding for its power assets, offering nearly 25% higher than local power player Tenaga Nasional Berhad.
The sale is understandable – 1MDB is desperate for cash. It has RM42 billion in borrowings that it is finding very hard to service. However, the sale of its only cash cow reeks of desperation and raises questions on just how deep is the hole 1MDB is in right now.
According to 1MDB, CGN is paying RM9.83 billion for its power assets held under Edra Global Energy. Payment is cash, which is music to the ears of those tracking 1MDB’s long trail of questionable deals over the years where it got into convoluted deals that often involve payments that are not cash.
As an aside, the sale brings full circle what was a contentious and questionable generosity – recall that 1MDB overpaid by several billion ringgit for the power assets which cost a total of RM12 billion, excluding the upcoming Track 4B 2,000MW power plant in Malacca. Read the rest of this entry »
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