Parliament has been reduced to a theatre of the absurd with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin wearing the dunce’s head as the most absurd Parliamentarian with his absurd edict banning Tony Pua from speaking about 1MDB in public.

At the rate of such absurdity in Parliament and the higher echelons of government leadership, it appears to be just a matter of time before “1MDB” joins the select group of subjects where mere criticism will be criminalized and construed as an act of sedition!

It is clear that the Najib leadership had been brainstorming for quite some time to find a way to criminalise and ban public debate on the twin1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” twin scandals, starting with Parliament before the ban is extended to all public spaces in the country, especially with the two scandals acquiring lives of their own, exploding every few days with new revelations completely beyond the control or ken of Najib’s PR handlers – to the extent that more than half a dozen countries have initiated their own separate investigations into the twin mega scandals.

Worst of all, the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had been pinpointed by the United States media as being the target of a FBI probe under the United States Department of Justice Kleptocracy Assets Recovery Initiative 2010 with neither Najib nor the Government able to deny or clarify such a damning report of Najib being investigated as a kleptocrat although more than a month had elapsed since the United States media report. Read the rest of this entry »

Former MCA President, Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek has made startling revelations about the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal in his personal banking accounts before the 13th General Election.

Malaysiakini yesterday reported the former MCA President as throwing some light on where some of the RM2.6 billion in Najib’s personal bank accounts had gone to.

Chua recollected how Najib had in a BN Supreme Council meeting before the 13th general election made an “unprecedented pledge to fund BN component parties”. Read the rest of this entry »

Some three weeks ago, the Malay Rulers issued an unprecedented statement urging the government to complete the 1MDB investigations “as soon as possible” and to take “the appropriate stern action” against all found to be implicated.

Such crisis of confidence, among other things, have caused “the plunge in the value of the Malaysian Ringgit, impacting the country’s financial market and economic climate negatively and at the same time adversely affecting the world’s view of Malaysia” – and if not “wisely handled”, could “jeopardize the country’s economy and the livelihood of the people”.

The Malay Rulers wanted the findings of the investigations to be reported “comprehensively and in a transparent manner” so that the people will be convinced of the government’s sincerity not to conceal “facts and truth”, as such failure to give “convincing clarifications and answers…is feared to have resulted in a crisis of confidence”.

Although the language is somewhat convoluted, it is the result of trying to diplomatically convey the messages (i) that the Malay Rulers were very concerned at the worsening crisis of confidence caused by the two mega scandals in the nation’s history, the RM50 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal banking accounts, which had brought together a conjunction of political, economic, good governance and nation-building crises which threaten to produce the first “perfect storm” to hit Malaysia for six decades; and (ii) that the government had not conducted itself in a frank and transparent matter it should have done in these two mega-scandals.

What has the Najib government done in the 24 days since the Oct. 6 statement of the Malay Rulers, or in the past fortnight of parliamentary meetings, to address the concern of Malay Rulers and Malaysian citizenry that IMBD investigations be completed “as soon as possible”?

Absolutely nothing! Read the rest of this entry »

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his government were too “economical with the truth” when it would not clarify after two weeks of Parliament whether Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was right in his last speech as Deputy Prime Minister to the Cheras UMNO Division three months ago that the 1MDB scandal had mushroomed from RM42 billion to over RM50 billion.

There was not a single reference whatsoever to the two mega scandals which had been dominating international headlines about Malaysia for the past few months, the RM50 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal banking accounts for the 13th General Election, in Najib’s much-awaited 2016 Budget – fully justifying Opposition MPs resorting to the unorthodox but very creative ploy of collectively displaying the placard “Mana RM2.6 billion” (Where is the RM2.6 billion) after Najib’s budget speech.

This action of Opposition MPs resonated in the hearts and minds of 30 million Malaysians, including the majority of the three million UMNO members, although there are those who excoriated such a creative ploy as “uncivilized”, as if they more Umno than Umno! Read the rest of this entry »

I said in Parliament yesterday that I was the latest victim of the 1MDB “Monster” stalking the land devouring critics.

Parliamentary conventions, practice and procedures have been shoved aside to achieve the objective to suspend me from Parliament for six months, although the proper parliamentary procedure and practice would be to refer me to the Committee of Privileges to ascertain whether what I said in Parliament when seeking clarification from the AMANAH MP for Sepang, Mohamed Hanipa bin Maidin was a “contempt” of the Speaker and Parliament, or whether the Speaker was misguided when he alleged that I had accused him of “deliberately” abusing his powers and sabotaging the Public Accounts Committee investigations into the 1MDB scandal.

On Wednesday, I had submitted to Parliament the following motion under Standing Order 43 to review the Speaker’s decision in August to stop the PAC from continuing its 1MDB investigations:

“Under Standing Orders 43 and 99, this House resolves that the ruling of the Speaker in August 2015 prohibiting the Public Accounts Committee under its Deputy Chairman, MP for Kepong, from continuing its proceedings to investigate the 1MDB scandal until the Chairman of the PAC has been appointed is wrong, an abuse of power and incompatible with the objective in having a Public Accounts Committee which enjoys credibility and respect of Malaysians for its commitment and conscientiousness to ensure that all government and public finances uphold the highest standards of integrity.”

Although my notice of this motion has become academic with my suspension from Parliament yesterday, had I also committed contempt of Speaker and Parliament in submitting such a motion to the Speaker on Wednesday, in total contravention of parliamentary convention, and practice and procedure? Read the rest of this entry »

I want to congratulate the new BN MP for Rompin Datuk Hasan Ariffin on his election as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for he has an unenviable task – as he does not have months, but only weeks, to establish himself as an independent and intrepid PAC Chairman whose remit is the integrity of government finances and who will uphold it against transgressors, whether the Finance Minister or Prime Minister.

When accepting the appointment as PAC Chairman particularly at these trying national times, Hassan must be armed with the maxim “Let justice be done though the heavens fall” in discharging his duties as PAC Chairman, because it will be a test whether he is prepared to lead the PAC to serve the higher national interests if this conflict with his loyalty to the party, the UMNO/BN government coalition and the Prime Minister himself.

Ariffin should be aware that an inquiry into the 1MDB transactions is in fact an inquiry into Najib’s role in 1MDB, Najib’s most controversial brainchild.

He should not accept his appointment as PAC Chairman if he is not prepared to rise above party interests if they conflict with national interests, such as to take a stand against the transgressions if any of the Finance Minister-cum-Prime Minister, especially as he seems to be pivotally involved in all 1MDB’s key and strategic decisions.

Having been blocked for some three months from conducting 1MDB investigations by the simple expedient of the Prime Minister promoting the PAC Chairman and three members as Minister or Deputy Minister in the sudden Cabinet reshuffle on July 28, Malaysians who want the PAC to immediately get on with its 1MDB investigations without any further delay, must have cringed at Ariffin’s comments after his appointment envisaging the possibility that the PAC under him might not even be able to meet at all this year. Read the rest of this entry »