Who is ‘Malaysian Official 1’? Case closed

by Karishma Vaswani

Asia business correspondent

BBC

1.9.2016

The allegations shocked the world. In July, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to seize the assets it says were bought with more than $3.5bn stolen from Malaysian national wealth fund 1MDB.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch laid the case out clearly: “Unfortunately, sadly, tragically, a number of corrupt officials treated this public trust as a personal bank account.”

The lawsuit alleged that those named in the suit were responsible for the fraud. But it also mentioned a “Malaysian Official 1” more than 30 times, and alleged that this official received some $681m of the stolen money, and returned most of it.

From the details in the suit, it was widely understood that “Malaysian Official 1” is Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, but it was never officially confirmed.

But in an interview with me, Abdul Rahman Dahlan, a senior government minister in Mr Najib’s cabinet, has confirmed that “MO1” is none other than Mr Razak.

“I’ve said it openly. Obviously if you read the documents, it is the prime minister,” he said.

“But I have also said, why didn’t the DOJ name him by his proper name. That’s because he is not part of this investigation.

“There have been other people who are named…. and the Department of Justice will take this to the courts and the courts will decide.”

In itself, the admission simply confirms what most Malaysians – at least those who know about the 1MDB scandal – already believe. The DOJ’s report led to outrage on social media, with many netizens cheekily asking for the real “Malaysia official 1” to “please stand up”.

The frustration is slowly but surely spilling out onto Malaysia’s streets. Just a few days ago, a protest organised by students and activists called for the arrest of Malaysian Official 1.

Carrying posters of Mr Najib with the words “MO1” emblazoned on them, protesters said he must step down even if he isn’t directly involved in the fraud, because it took place under his watch.

Mr Najib set up 1MDB in 2009 and, until recently, was the chair of the advisory board. The fund was supposed to promote economic development in Malaysia, but ran into billions of dollars of debt and has been considered a financial failure.

But when I asked Mr Dahlan whether the prime minister should take responsibility for the fund’s failure, the answer was a categorical no.

“He has taken responsibility, by putting a new team in place at 1MDB,” he said. “But just because a few NGOs and the opposition are calling for him to vacate his seat, he shouldn’t do that. That’s too much.”

It is true that the protest was much smaller than organisers expected and it’s unclear whether any more will follow.

Reputational damage

It’s unlikely that Mr Najib will be hurt by these sorts of demonstrations: for now at least, they’re too insignificant to make much of a difference.

But there has been some damage to his international reputation, and that of Malaysia’s, according to those who want him out.

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is leading the charge. “Today people laugh at Malaysia, they say what has happened to your country?” he told me in an interview in his office in Kuala Lumpur.

It’s hard not to be sceptical about his sudden distaste for the current leader. After all, Mr Najib was handpicked and groomed by Mr Mahathir as his successor.

And Mr Mahathir’s critics argue that the corruption that he is now attacking flourished under his watch.

“Yes there was corruption. Corruption is everywhere,” he said to me. “I admit there is some corruption in my staff – but not me. During my time, we don’t have corruption on this scale, described by the US DOJ as the biggest fraud they have ever seen.”

Mr Najib’s supporters say that Mr Mahathir’s desire to push him out is driven by hidden motives – that he wants to secure a political legacy for his son, and that he is using the 1MDB case as a way to fuel anger amongst the Malaysian public.

If it wasn’t 1MDB, they say, it would be something else.

But the fact remains that Mr Najib’s reputation is now intricately tied to the way the 1MDB saga pans out.

For now, Malaysians appear to be resigned to the news that their prime minister was in some way involved in this scandal.

And the vast majority of Malaysians who live in the countryside have yet to fully understand the financial complexities behind what happened at 1MDB.

But elections are expected in the next 12-18 months. This battle is just beginning.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 1 September 2016, 10:50 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


MALAYSIA’S 1MDB SCANDAL – How $1 Billion Made Its Way to the Prime Minister

By Bradley Hope, Tyler Paige, Will Welch, Maryanne Murray and Chris Canipe

Wall Street Journal

Sept. 1, 2016

Investigators say at least $3.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB. Here’s how they believe $1 billion ended up in the bank accounts of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Every time Malaysian government investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd, or 1MDB, borrowed money, large amounts of the cash were quickly misappropriated, according to investigators. The money followed a circuitous path among private banks, offshore companies and funds, bank records show, and roughly $1 billion landed in the private bank accounts of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

That cash is part of $3.5 billion that was embezzled from 1MDB, according to a U.S. Justice department complaint. Investigators from seven countries are trying to figure out what happened to the money and the U.S. moved to seize $1 billion in property in July, including luxury real estate in New York and Beverly Hills, a private jet and art allegedly purchased with 1MDB money. Singapore has charged a banker with money laundering in relation to 1MDB and Abu Dhabi has arrested and frozen the assets of a top official who was deeply involved with the fund. The banker and the official haven’t commented.

This interactive graphic tracks the route that investigators believe the money took from the time it was raised by 1MDB until it landed in the private bank accounts of Mr. Najib at AmBank Bhd., a Malaysian bank, between 2011 and 2015.

The money was raised on three separate occasions and took three separate paths, sometimes flowing directly, while in other cases it split and took different routes, only to be reunited in the AmBank accounts according to the Justice Department complaint. The cash flowed through Singapore, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, the Seychelles, the British Virgin Islands and Curaçao. Other funds disappear, often into accounts controlled by other players in the scandal, the complaint said.

This description is based on bank-transfer documents, investigative files from two countries, people familiar with transactions and the 136-page Justice Department complaint, which is seeking to seize assets bought with funds misappropriated from 1MDB.

Mr. Najib hasn’t acknowledged all of the transfers into his accounts, but he said that $681 million was a legal donation from the royal family of Saudi Arabia and the Malaysian attorney general agreed with that explanation, clearing him of any wrongdoing. Mr. Najib said he returned most of the funds to the Saudi Arabian donor. 1MDB has denied wrongdoing and said it would cooperate with any lawful international investigation.

According to the Justice Department, the money went back to the offshore company that originally sent it to Mr. Najib’s accounts, and from there it was used to fuel other investments and spending by a Malaysian financier allegedly at the center of the scheme named Jho Low. A lawyer for Mr. Low declined to comment.

A portion of the money from 1MDB passed through Saudi Arabia on its way to Mr. Najib’s accounts and $80 million appears to have been transferred by the Ministry of Finance in Saudi Arabia. The origin of the rest of the Saudi money is still under investigation.

TRANSACTION 1

THE SAUDI ARABIAN OIL-VENTURE MONEY

HOW THE MONEY WAS RAISED

1MDB borrowed about $1.8 billion for a joint venture with Saudi oil company PetroSaudi International Ltd.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MONEY

About $1 billion of the cash went to a Seychelles company called Good Star Ltd.

HOW THE MONEY GOT TO MR. NAJIB’S BANK ACCOUNTS

A co-founder of PetroSaudi, Prince Turki bin Abdullah, received $24.5 million from Good Star before transferring $20 million to Mr. Najib via an intermediary, according to the Justice Department and a person familiar with the U.S. investigation into 1MDB. The same intermediary sent other funds into Mr. Najib’s accounts, bank transfer documents show, but the origin of the funds is still under investigation. PetroSaudi, Prince Turki and Prince Faisal did not respond to requests for comment.

TRANSACTION 2

THE POWER-PLANT MONEY

‘

HOW THE MONEY WAS RAISED

Two bonds worth a total of $3.5 billion were sold for 1MDB by Goldman Sachs to fund the purchase of power plants.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MONEY

After paying a substantial fee to Goldman, 1MDB was supposed to pay money for a guarantee on the bonds to a unit of Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company called Aabar Investments PJS. Instead, the funds went to the similarly named Aabar Investments PJS Ltd., a British Virgin Islands registered company that IPIC says isn’t part of its corporate structure, which received billions of dollars from 1MDB entities over the years. The money was then distributed to beneficiaries of the alleged fraud, according to the Justice Department.

HOW THE MONEY GOT TO MR. NAJIB’S ACCOUNTS

From Aabar BVI, about $637 million went to a company called Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners in the British Virgin Islands, where it was pooled with other funds. Blackstone has no connection to the Blackstone Group, the New York private-equity firm.

Another $463 million went from Aabar BVI to two mutual funds in the Caribbean island of Curaçao and then onto Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners, which transferred a total of $170 million to Mr. Najib’s bank accounts in multiple transactions during 2012, bank transfer documents show.

TRANSACTION 3

THE ABU DHABI REAL-ESTATE MONEY

HOW THE MONEY WAS RAISED

1MDB sold $3 billion in bonds via Goldman Sachs to fund a real-estate joint venture with Abu Dhabi.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MONEY

Immediately after paying Goldman Sachs its substantial fees, 1MDB transferred nearly half of the cash to a series of funds, shell companies and other intermediaries located in the British Virgin Islands and Curaçao. Eventually $1.27 billion ended up in a British Virgin Islands company called Tanore Finance Corp.

HOW THE MONEY GOT TO MR. NAJIB’S ACCOUNTS

Tanore transferred $680 million to Mr. Najib’s accounts. A few months later, $620 million was returned to Tanore before disappearing back into a maze of offshore companies, according to the Justice Department and investigative documents reviewed by the Journal.

THE LAST STEP

THE FOUR PATHS INTO THE PRIME MINISTER’S BANK ACCOUNTS

HOW IT GOT TO MR. NAJIB’S ACCOUNTS

Of the $1.05 billion Mr. Najib received in his accounts, only $80 million appears to clearly originate with Saudi Arabia, via its Finance Ministry, though the details of that transfer are still unknown. Another $120 million that came via an intermediary based in Saudi Arabia are still under investigation, according to a person familiar with the U.S. investigation. At least $20 million of that $120 million has been traced clearly back to 1MDB by investigators. The remaining $850 million came via Tanore Finance and Blackstone Asia, and has been traced back to 1MDB by investigators, according to people familiar with the probe.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MONEY

Mr. Najib used the money in his AmBank accounts for personal and political spending, according to investigative documents reviewed by the Journal that detail more than 500 transactions. He wrote checks to politicians in his political party and also paid millions of dollars for personal expenses, including $130,625 at a Chanel store in Hawaii and €750,000 at a jewelry store in Switzerland.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 2 September 2016, 9:16 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Now that the government has finally admitted “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is Najib, what next to protect the  good name and reputation of the country and Prime Minister?

Was the admission by the Barisan Nasional  Strategic Communications Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan in his interview with BBC that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” referred to in the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s biggest kleptocratic action against 1MDB and Malaysia was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak a deliberate and intentional act, made with the knowledge,  authority and  approval of Najib himself and the Cabinet Ministers, or was it unauthorized, unintended and a sheer act of “hubris” infecting government leaders that they have become “untouchable” and could do no wrong or even if they are wrong, they enjoy immunity and impunity as there is nothing the Malaysian people could do about them?

The very fact that Abdul Rahman had to come out with an explanatory statement last evening on his BBC interview would indicate that his admission that “MO1” is none other than Najib had caught the government leadership and the  Cabinet, by surprise – although there is no way to ascertain whether Abdul Rahman’s admission had caught  Prime Minister himself by surprise.

This is one of the rare occasions where a Minister’s interview through the electronic media had to be followed by a written explanatory statement.

While hewing to the line and admission that the “MO1” is none other than Najib and that “only an idiot doesn’t know who that person was” (how many “idiots” are  there in the Cabinet and was Datuk Paul Low, the Minister for “integrity” one of the “idiots”), Abdul Rahman was forced to proclaim  his loyalty and fealty to Najib by declaring that “the difference between being named as the subject of a civil lawsuit and merely being referred to in an investigation, is black and white”.

Abdul Rahman cannot be wrong in claiming that the difference between being named as the subject of a civil lawsuit and merely being referred to an investigation is “black and white”, when the difference is more mundane – between a civil action “in rem” from an action “in personam”.

The difference between the five persons named in the DOJ lawsuits – Jho Low, Raja Shahrir Aziz bin Abdul Aziz, “Eric” Tan, Khadem Abdulla AL QUBAISI and Mohamed Ahmed Badawy AL-HUSSEINY –  and the four persons referred by code, viz “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”, “1MDB OFFICER 1”, “1MDB OFFICER 2” and “1MDB OFFICER 3” is a  very simple and straightforward one:  the DOJ filing is  a “civil action in rem” (against the thing) for seizure of assets located primarily but not exclusively in the United States as a result of a series of criminal conduct amounting to an international conspiracy for theft, embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of  US$3.5 billion 1MDB funds and not an  action “in personam” (against the person).

Before a Minister of His Majesty’s Government make a bigger fool of himself, I would advise Abdul Rahman to ask the Attorney-General Tan Sri Apandi Ali to give him an instant briefing between actions “in rem” and “in personam” as well as between civil and criminal actions.

Clearly, Abdul Rahman does not seem to be aware despite the passage of six weeks that the DOJ lawsuits  do not preclude criminal action, as the forfeiture is but a first step to prevent dissipation of the specified assets.

Upon forfeiture of the assets, it is likely that there would be criminal proceedings to prosecute those responsible for the alleged misappropriation of 1MDB funds and the laundering of those funds in the United States and elsewhere.

But Malaysians must thank  Abdul Rahman for his  use of the language of “black and white”, for his analogy  cannot be more appropriate, as he had unintentionally highlighted the most important aspect of the 1MDB scandal – the failure of the Malaysian government, led by the Prime Minister,  his  Cabinet and the top government leadership, to know the difference between white and black, right from wrong,  as the entire Malaysian Government hierarchy has lost the moral compass to the extent that it could adopt a nonchalant attitude to the damning international indictment of Malaysia becoming an overnight global kleptocracy!

Najib has persistently denied that he had committed any wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal.

Without going into the grim disclosures about the series of criminal conduct in the international conspiracy spanning some ten countries and the shocking substance, depth and reach of the DOJ allegations of financial improprieties, the very fact that under Najib’s premiership, Malaysia has acquired the international infamy and opprobrium of being an overnight global kleptocracy is wrong enough to Malaysia – as it  is wrong which  represents the greatest national disservice any Prime Minister had done to  Malaysia in the nation’s 59-year history!

Any other Malaysian who had committed such a grave and  grievous wrong to Malaysia as to make the nation the contempt of the world and Malaysians unable to hold their heads high when abroad would deserve to be kept away for life!

The DOJ action had made two serious accusations, firstly, that  “public officials and their associates” in Malaysia, some named specifically but others just referred to in code, of  being active participants and co-conspirators of a multi-billion dollar international conspiracy to defraud 1MDB of billions of United States dollars; secondly, that Malaysia has overnight become a global kleptocracy.

Even if Malaysians could suspend judgment whether Najib, now that Abdul Rahman has admitted Najib is “MO1”, is guilty of as detailed in the DOJ filings of being a kingpin in the 1MDB global financial scandal, the nation’s good name and reputation warrants priority and immediate protection  by purging and cleansing of the international indictment that Malaysia had become an overnight global kleptocracy.

National interests and imperatives do not allow a single day to pass without concrete and positive action to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the infamy and odium of an overnight  global kleptocarcy.

This is why with the official admission by the government that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is Najib, an admission which the Cabinet should have the courage and conviction to admit six weeks ago when the DOJ lawsuits were first filed on July 20,  it will be the  height of national cowardice and irresponsibility if Cabinet dare  not resolve that the Prime Minister should personally address the UN General Assembly to purge and cleanse Malaysia’s reputation as a “global kleptocracy” and convince the world community of the Malaysian government’s commitment to public integrity.

All patriotic Malaysian organizations and individuals should ask  Najib  whether he is capable of rising up to  this greatest challenge of his premiership – to address the UN General Assembly to purge and cleanse the damning international indictment  of Malaysia as a global kleptocacy?

Najib must subordinate his personal interests to national interests.

Whether Najib is “kingpin” of the 1MDB global scandal can wait as the the separate but even more important national interests of purging and cleansing Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy cannot wait and requires instant action.

After the government’s admission that “MALAYSIAN OFFICAL 1” is none other than Prime Minister Najib, what is its  next step to protect and salvage Malaysia’s good name and reputation in the world?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 2 September 2016, 8:39 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


What’s a few missing billions among friends: Why Malaysia 1MDB scandal might not dent US ties

Leslie Shaffer

CNBC.com

2.9.2016

A sweeping U.S. investigation into assets allegedly looted from a state fund in Malaysia has raised the heat on Prime Minister Najib Razik, but it wasn’t entirely clear that would dent the two countries’ ties.

Malaysia’s status as a moderate Muslim-majority nation in Southeast Asia has helped the country develop a solid relationship with the U.S., offering a bulwark against extremism. Indeed, last year, during a visit to Malaysia, U.S. President Barak Obama called the country’s voice “critical” on counter-terrorism efforts.

But the long-running scandal over billions of dollars missing from the Malaysia state fund 1MDB came to roost in the U.S.

In July, the U.S. Department of Justice moved to seize more than $1 billion of assets tied to an international conspiracy to launder funds funnelled away from 1MDB, including funds related to the film “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

That complaint said officials at 1MDB, their relatives and other associates diverted more than $3.5 billion from the state fund and laundered it through complex transactions and shell companies with bank accounts in Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the U.S.

The producer of “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Red Granite Pictures, was co-founded by Riza Aziz, the stepson of Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Riza was named as a “relevant individual” in the complaint, but Najib wasn’t named. However, media have reported, citing unnamed sources, that the complaint’s 32 references to “Malaysian Official 1,” who allegedly received hundreds of millions from 1MDB, were to Najib.

On Thursday, Abdul Rahman Dahlan, a senior government minister in Najib’s cabinet, said that Malaysian official 1 was Najib, confirming statements he made in a BBC interview published earlier Thursday. Rahman’s statement noted that Malaysian official 1 was only referred to in the civil suit, not named as a subject.

Najib has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, as has Riza and Red Granite Pictures.

In addition to the allegations of money laundering, there’s another development that may complicate the Malaysia-U.S. relationship: Once the assets are seized, U.S. officials don’t appear likely to return them to Malaysia, analysts said.

In any kleptocracy case, it would do no good to give assets back to people who stole them in the first place, noted Eric Berg, a former Department of Justice attorney, who previously worked with the kleptocracy initiative on money laundering.

The U.S. government was more likely to look at other options, such as deploying the funds to non-profits active in the assets’ home country or find some way to invest the funds on the country’s behalf, Berg, who is currently a litigation attorney at Foley & Lardner, told CNBC recently.

But he noted that “certainly implicates foreign policy.”

That’s an idea echoed by Oh Ei Sun, who was political secretary to Malaysia’s Prime Minister’s Office from 2009-11; Najib took office as prime minister in 2009. Oh told CNBC that if the U.S. investigation continued it would have some adverse influence on bilateral relations.

“At least from the Malaysian side, this concept of separation of powers between for example the executive as well as, for example, the more independent portions of the Department of Justice, I don’t think that is well understood in a Malaysian context,” he said on Wednesday.

But Oh added that he didn’t expect a particularly large impact on bilateral relations.

“You may hear government-inspired media making some noises, but this is not serious because Malaysia is not in an economically powerful position to really openly criticize the U.S.,” said Oh, who is currently a Senior Fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

“You will hear the Malaysian media obligatorily condemning it, but that’s about it,” he said. “You wouldn’t see Malaysian citizens going on the streets and doing major protests.”

But James Chin, the director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania, said the main impact on the relationship would likely come once U.S. law enforcement officially named “Malaysian official 1,” citing the likelihood that official would be forced to resign.

But Chin noted that the process of seizing the U.S. assets would normally take at least five years.

“People don’t have to worry about embarrassing Najib, because he’ll be out of power by then,” Chin said.

He expected that the U.S. was more interested in restoring confidence in its financial system after the alleged 1MDB-related money-laundering than in embarrassing Najib.

But he added that there likely wouldn’t be any further one-on-one meetings between Najib and Obama.

Others noted that the relationship between the U.S. and Malaysia could face some bumps.

“Nothing happens in total isolation when it comes to diplomacy,” noted Wan Saiful Wan Jan, chief executive at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs.

On a longer term perspective, Wan Saiful expected that the Malaysia-U.S. relationship was bigger than any individual, but in the shorter term, he said there would be some challenges with the current government.

He expected some “diplomatic wrangling” to try to ensure no criminal charges were brought against the prime minister.

For the longer term, however, Wan Saiful noted that China was making more investments into Malaysia and he expected that might serve as signals to the U.S. of potential political ramifications.

“It may not be completely dominated by this case, but you cannot isolate them completely,” he said.

When asked for comment via email, the Malaysian prime minister’s office referred to three official statements made in July.

One from Malaysia’s Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Salleh Said Keruak, said “1MDB has been the subject of unprecedented politically-motivated attack, the objective of which was to unseat a democratically-elected head of government.”

A separate July statement from the prime minister’s office said the Malaysian government would cooperate with any lawful investigation and a third statement from Malaysia’s Attorney General’s office disputed that any investigation had found evidence that funds were misappropriated from 1MDB.

Questions about movement of funds from 1MDB came to widespread attention a little over a year ago, when the Wall Street Journal reported that in 2013, nearly $700 million had flowed from the debt-ridden fund to Najib’s personal bank account.

Najib has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and, under pressure from the outcry caused by the WSJ report, said the funds were a private donation from a Middle Eastern country he declined to name at that time. He has denied benefiting personally from the funds.

In January, Malaysia’s Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali said that Saudi Arabia’s royal family gave Najib a $681 million gift, of which Apandi said about $600 million was later returned.

Apandi said that no criminal offense had been committed. But globally, investigations into 1MDB in locales as varied as the U.S., Switzerland, Singapore and the Seychelles have continued.

In July, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that funds laundered from 1MDB were used to purchase assets including high-end real estate and hotels in New York and Los Angeles, a $35 million jet aircraft, artwork by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet, a stake in EMI Music publishing rights and production of the 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” which ironically was not only about a corrupt stockbroker, but also was banned from playing in Malaysia for being too risqué.

The film’s producer, Red Granite Pictures, which was co-founded by Najib’s stepson Riza, has previously said that “none of the funding it received four years ago was in any way illegitimate,” adding that the U.S. lawsuit didn’t indicate the company knew otherwise.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 2 September 2016, 10:44 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Call on Najib to confirm that he is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” referred to in the US DOJ lawsuits on forfeiture of  1MDB-linked assets in United States, and if  not, to explain why not

The MCA Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong has confirmed my belief that the admission by the Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan in his interview with BBC that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” (MO1) referred to in the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s biggest kleptocratic action against 1MDB and Malaysia was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had caught most Cabinet Ministers by surprise.

When asked by reporters today to comment on Abdul Rahman’s admission, Wee said he did not know who is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” and suggested that the press should question Abdul Rahman himself.

I am astonished by Wee’s admission that he did not know who is “MO1” as it was six weeks ago that the US DOJ filed lawsuits which made reference to “MO1” 36 times.

Didn’t Wee think that it was a matter of national importance and even a public duty for him to try to find out who was this “MO1”, especially as he appeared to be the  king-pin together with Penang billionaire Jho Low  responsible for Malaysia’s international infamy and odium  as  an overnight global kleptocracy?

Wee’s admission is all the more shocking, especially as  Abdul Rahman had gone on public  record to say that “only an idiot doesn’t know what that person (i.e. MO1) was” as  everyone who has read the court documents or familiar with the issues would know who was the person being referred to.

Is Wee, the MCA Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, an “idiot”?

Clearly going by Abdul Rahman’s definition, Wee fit fully and ideally into  an “idiot” in the Cabinet!

Did  the other two MCA Ministers in Cabinet, MCA President Datuk Liow Tiong Lai and the MCA Secretary-General Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, know that “MO1” was none other than Primer Minister Najib, or are they also “idiots” like the MCA Deputy President – at least in the eyes of the Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director?

Let every Cabinet Minister, regardless of party affiliation, speak up as to whether he or she  knew that “MOI” was none other than Prime Minister Najib, and in particular state whether they had been surprised by Abdul Rahman’s admission in the BBC interview yesterday.

I had said that unlike the majority of the Cabinet Ministers,  Najib was probably not surprised by Abdul Rahman’s  admission in the BBC interview.

I call on Najib to confirm that he is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” referred to in the US DOJ lawsuits on forfeiture of  1MDB-linked assets in United States, and if  he is not prepared to make such a confirmation, then let him explain why not.

The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, said earlier today that the police force does not want to be dragged into politics regarding the 1MDB issue.

He continues to maintain that the US DOJ action is a civil action and that the Police does not get involved in civil suits.

This is a pathetic excuse by the IGP to turn the Malaysian police’s blind eye to the series of criminal conduct in the international conspiracy in the multi-billion dollar theft, embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of 1MDB funds which formed the basis of the DOJ’s civil action in rem for the forfeiture of the 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

If the persons named, whether directly or in code like “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”, “1MDB Officer 1”, “1MDB OFFICER 2”, “1MDB OFFICER 3”  in the 136-page DOS lawsuits had referred to Pakatan Harapan or civil society personalities, would Khalid adopt such a dismissive, indifferent or nonchalant attitude?

Of course not. If the persons named as “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”, “1MDB Officer 1”, “1MDB Officer 2” and “1MDB Officer 3” had referred to Pakatan Harapan or civil society personalities, they would have spent the last six weeks since the DOJ filing of its lawsuits on July 20 walking in and out of police lock-ups and investigations!

This is a most glaring and blatant case of double standards by the police authorities,  where  there is one law for the powers-that-be while a different law for the rest of society.

Khalid should not fail in his duty and higher calling to the nation as Inspector-General of Police and should ensure that the police investigate and act on the information in the DOJ lawsuits about the hosts of criminal conduct in the theft, embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of 1MDB funds which run into tens of billions of ringgit – completely without fear or favour of the high-ranking positions of the criminals implicated.

Najib has persistently denied that he had committed any wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal.

The DOJ action had made two serious accusations, firstly, that  “public officials and their associates” in Malaysia, some named specifically but others just referred to in code, of  being active participants and co-conspirators of a multi-billion dollar international conspiracy to defraud 1MDB of billions of United States dollars; secondly, that Malaysia has overnight become a global kleptocracy.

Najib does not seem agitated in any manner for  being referred  by code  in the DOJ lawsuits as a king-pin in 1MDB global financial scandal, although Abdul Rahman has “outed” the Prime Minister by admitting to the whole world in the BBC interview that “MO1” is none other than Najib himself.

We must however make an important distinction –  Najib’s personal reputation is different and separate from the nation’s good name and reputation, and it is  the nation’s good name and reputation which warrant priority and immediate protection and action to purge and cleanse  the international indictment that Malaysia had become an overnight global kleptocracy.

Thirty million Malaysians must regard it as a national shame and infamy to be identified as an overnight global kleptocracy – which the President of Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M), Akbar Satar, has rightly defined as “rule by thieves”.

No self-respecting people would want their country to be known  as a kleptocracy, let alone a global kleptocracy.

National interests and imperatives do not allow a single day to pass without concrete and positive action by the government to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the infamy and odium of an overnight  global kleptocarcy in international forums and platforms, but the Malaysian government had done absolutely nothing in this direction in the past six weeks!

Is Najib prepared to  subordinate his personal interests to national interests; and is he prepared to perform his national duty as Prime Minister and speak at the United Nations General Assembly at the end of this month to purge and cleanse

Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy?

Malaysians are entitled to an answer from Najib.

[Speech at the Chennah (Negri Sembilan) DAP 50th Anniversary Dinner in Pekan Titi on Friday, 2nd September 2016 at 8 pm]

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 3 September 2016, 7:48 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


DAP calls for a special session of Parliament to consider sending an all-party parliamentary delegation to the UN General Assembly session at the end of the month to purge  and cleanse Malaysia of  international indictment  as an overnight global kleptocracy

DAP National Publicity Secretary,  MP for PJ Utara and member of Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Tony Pua was hauled up by the police for investigation for naming the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, as the “Malaysian Official 1” figure in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuits for forfeiture of US$1 billion assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland as a result of an international conspiracy of theft, embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of US$3.5 billion 1MDB funds.

Three days ago, the Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of EPU, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, told the world in his interview with BBC that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is none other than Prime Minister Najib, after saying earlier that  “only an idiot doesn’t know who that person was” as there was  no secret who is Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) mentioned in the DOJ civil lawsuits as everyone who has read the court documents or familiar with the issues would know who is the person being referred to.

Two questions are in order:

Firstly, had the police hauled up  or is proposing to haul up Abdul Rahman for police questioning like Tony Pua, and if not, why not?  It is the teeming examples of  such double standards in upholding law and administering justice in Malaysia which are the surest signs that Malaysia is heading towards a failed state.

Secondly, are  the Inspector-General of Police and the Royal Malaysian Police “idiots” that they do not know who is the person “MO1” referred to in the DOJ lawsuits, when according to Abdul Rahman, “everyone who has read the court documents or familiar with the issues would know who is the person referred to”?

Can IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar give answers to these two questions?

The Prime Minister, the Cabinet and highest levels of the government leadership who head the various important national enforcement and investigative institutions and agencies, like the Police, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara and the Auditor-General’s Office had  failed Malaysia in the past six weeks when they did not lift even a finger  to defend and  protect  Malaysia’s national sovereignty and international good name and reputation when Malaysia was accused of the dastardly and nefarious  deed of becoming an overnight global kleptocracy by being involved in the world’s biggest case of kleptocracy and money-laundering – the 1MDB global financial scandal!

Even Parliament had failed to defend and protect Malaysia’s national sovereignty and international good name and reputation, when the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) cowardly and irresponsibly decided not to re-open investigations into 1MDB and to ask the US authorities for information relating to the 136-page DOJ complaint on the multi-billion dollar 1MDB global embezzlement, misappropriation, money-laundering and corruption which had  far-reaching impact on the PAC  Report on 1MDB.

Parliament should have been summoned to meet in the past six weeks after the nation’s sovereignty, international reputation and good name had never been so sullied and besmirched in the nations’ 59-year-history but the Prime Minister and the Cabinet never considered convening an emergency session of Parliament because the thought of defending and protecting  Malaysia’s national sovereignty and international good name and reputation had never entered their mind.

They were completely embroiled in the cat-and-mouse game of pretending that they do not know who is “MO1”!

This must now be immediately remedied, and I call for a special session of Parliament this month to discuss how Malaysia can regain our international reputation and good name by the  purging and cleansing of  the international indictment of Malaysia as an overnight global democracy as  a result of the US DOJ lawsuits on forfeiture of US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets.

Whether Najib is guilty of being involved in an international conspiracy involving tens of billions of ringgit of theft, embezzlement , misappropriation and money-laundering of 1MDB funds  can only be answered by Najib and credible investigators but this must be treated as a  different and separate issue from Malaysia being classified as a global kleptocracy.

The President of Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M), Akbar Satar, has defined kleptocracy  as “rule by thieves”.

Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or party affiliation do not  want Malaysia to be known worldwide as a global kleptocracy!

This is  the subject that  Parliament should debate in a special session this month – to save the honour and reputation of Malaysia as Malaysians cannot be seen to be indifferent or nonchalant to the international indictment of Malaysia as a overnight global kleptocracy.

Najib must be prepared to subordinate his personal interests to national interests; and  perform his national duty as Prime Minister to speak at the United Nations General Assembly at the end of this month to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy.

The special session of Parliament should also consider sending an all-party  parliamentary delegation to the UN General Assembly  session to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy.

(Speech  at the  DAP election course for Tanjong Piai, Johor on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016 at 3 pm)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 3 September 2016, 3:44 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


1MDB: Malaysian minister names PM Najib Razak as key figure in corruption scandal

News

abc

2.9.2016

A Malaysian cabinet minister says Prime Minister Najib Razak was the mysterious unnamed official who the US Justice Department claimed took part in rampant looting of state funds.

The admission confirmed widespread suspicions that Mr Najib was “Malaysian Official 1” mentioned in a Justice Department lawsuit filed in July.

The lawsuit — part of US moves to seize more than $1 billion in allegedly ill-gotten assets — repeatedly fingered the official as someone conspiring to divert vast sums from state investment fund 1MDB.

1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Berhad, was launched by Mr Najib in 2009 and closely overseen by him.

In an interview with the BBC, Malaysia’s Minister of Urban Well-Being, Housing and Local Government Abdul Rahman Dahlan admitted “Malaysian Official 1” was Mr Najib.

“It’s obvious that the so-called ‘Malaysian Official 1’ referred to by the US Justice Department is our Prime Minister,” he said in a subsequent clarifying statement.

Mr Rahman Dahlan, who also is communications director for the Prime Minister’s ruling coalition, did not address whether his leader committed wrongdoing, but he insisted Mr Najib was not a target of the US lawsuit.

Mr Najib has so far not commented on the identity of the unnamed official.

Allegations of a vast international scheme of embezzlement and money-laundering involving billions of dollars of 1MDB money began to emerge two years ago.

A Four Corners investigation in March revealed that Malaysia’s former attorney-general had planned to lay charges of misappropriation against Mr Najib shortly before he was sacked.

The story made headlines when the Four Corners crew was detained by police for trying to question the Prime Minister over the corruption scandal.

Calls for action continue despite crackdown on dissent

Last weekend, several hundred protesters demonstrated, demanding that “Malaysian Official 1” be identified and arrested.

Mr Najib, however, has shut down Malaysian investigations, clamped down on media reporting of the affair, and purged critics from his ruling party.

In its scathing lawsuit, the US Justice Department detailed how “Malaysian Official 1”, family members, and close associates diverted billions from the now-stricken fund.

The Justice Department has moved to seize assets including real estate in Beverly Hills, New York and London, artworks by Monet and Van Gogh, and a Bombardier jet that it alleges were purchased with money stolen from 1MDB.

It was not immediately clear why Mr Rahman Dahlan, a staunch defender of Mr Najib, had outed him.

But the news dominated headlines in Malaysia, and was a top-trending Twitter topic in the country.

Analysts warn the scandal could harm foreign investment in Malaysia, but Mr Najib has refused to give way.

Political experts see no sign yet that he will be ousted before the next elections, due by mid-2018, due to his long-ruling coalition’s firm control.

AFP

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 4 September 2016, 8:58 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Call on all Malaysian organisations, whether political, civic, religious , commercial or even communal and clan associations, to take a common patriotic stand in  a national and international campaign to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy

A week before the 59th National Day, the issue dominating the warongs, coffee shops and  national conversations   was  “TANGKAPMO1”.

In the past three days, another issue had overtaken  “Who is MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” as the hottest topic of the country –  the worldwide admission by the Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of EPU, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, in his interview with BBC on Sept. 1 that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” (MO1) is none other than the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

And the question: Why  Abdul Rahman “outed” Najib  publicly and internationally as “MO1” when for the past six weeks, the entire government apparatus from the Prime Minister to the Cabinet and the heads of the national enforcement and investigative institutions like the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara, the Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee had  engaged in a national “cat-and-mouse” game, putting up a national and international pretence that they do not know who is “MO1”.

Is Abdul Rahman a friend or foe of Najib?

Although Abdul Rahman had contemptuously dismissed as “idiots” those who do not know who is “MO1” (which included the majority of the Cabinet Ministers as well as a gratuitous swipe against top government loyalists like the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Police), nobody really believed that Abdul Rahman is Najib’s foe – not even of the “hiding under the mattress” variety!

Although Abdul Rahman’s admission has clearly taken the other Cabinet Ministers and top government loyalists by surprise (a good example being the MCA Deputy President and Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong), nobody really believes that Abdul Rahman would have made such an admission in the BBC interview without Najib’s knowledge, authority or approval.

So what game is Najib up to?

The BBC report on Abdul Rahman’s  BBC interview was headlined: “Who is ‘Malaysian Official 1’? Case closed”

This is what Najib, Abdul Rahman and the Najib strategists who decided on the strategy to “out” Najib as “MO1” had hoped, but they cannot be more wrong, as it is not a “Case closed” but “Case Re-opened” and even wider in depth and scope.

Firstly, with the mystery of who is “MO1 solved” by Abdul Rahman’s admission, the  immediate question is why the Prime Minister himself is still so coy to step forward and admit that he had been “fingered” by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations into the international conspiracy on global kleptocracy, embezzlement and money-laundering of tens of billions of ringgit of 1MDB funds.

Najib has persistently denied that he had committed any wrongdoing in the 1MDB scandal.

Without the Malaysian public having to make a judgment on Najib’s rights and wrongs, it is undoubtedly Najib’s Achilles’ heel that despite a multitude of investigations in the country on the 1MDB  – the Special Task Force of four Tan Sris on 1MDB, the Auditor-General, the Public Accounts Committee, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Police – and with him having the final say on all 1MDB transactions and decisions from 2009 to 2015, the Prime Minister and  Malaysian Government could not put up a credible and convincing case to debunk and  demolish  the 136-page DOJ complaint against both Najib and the “participants and co-conspirators” of the international conspiracy to defraud 1MDB of billions of US dollars!

With Abdul Rahman openly admitting that “MO1” is Najib, the hands-off, indifferent and nonchalant government  stance to await the outcome of the DOJ lawsuits, which can take years, is increasingly untenable and indefensible.

But Abdul Rahman’s admission was one advantage – in clarifying that the DOJ complaint involves  two grave issues: firstly, the  guilt and culpability of Najib and other “public officials and their associates” in Malaysia in the 1MDB global financial scandal; and secondly, the international indictment that Malaysia has become an overnight global kleptocracy.

Whether it is right, proper or ethical to allow time to elapse before determination of the question of Najib’s culpability in the 1MDB global financial scandal, it is clearly wrong, improper and unethical to allow Malaysia’s good name and reputation to continue to be besmirched and destroyed without immediate national response and redress.

Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or party politics, must be united in not wanting Malaysia to become world-infamous an overnight global kleptocracy.

This is why I suggested yesterday that there should be a special session of Parliament this month to discuss how Malaysia should respond to defend and protect Malaysia’s national sovereignty and international good name and reputation by purging and cleansing Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy.

Najib must be prepared to subordinate his personal interests to national interests; and  perform his national duty as Prime Minister to speak at the United Nations General Assembly to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy.

An all-party parliamentary delegation should also be sent to the United Nations Special Assembly session at the end of the month to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy.

This is the stuff of patriotism and the task and challenge of Malaysian patriots, regardless of race, religion, region or party politics.

For this reason, I call on all Malaysian organisations, whether political, civic, religious , commercial or even communal and clan associations, to take a common patriotic stand in a national and international campaign to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy.

This must be a campaign to defend the international good name and reputation of Malaysia – which is more important than any  individual or political party.

(Speech at the DAP  Johor Jaya/Stulang election course in Johor Baru on Sunday, 4th September 2016 at 12.30 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 4 September 2016, 11:55 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Imagine a  Minister who can be confused between a turtle egg and a chicken egg accusing me of being confused between a civil and criminal case over DOJ billion-dollar forfeiture lawsuits over 1MDB-linked assets and MO1!

Imagine a Minister who can be confused between a turtle egg and a chicken egg accusing me of being confused between a civil and criminal case over the US Department of Justice (DOJ) billion-dollar forfeiture lawsuits over 1MDB-linked assets in the world’s biggest single kleptocracy and money-laundering action and the mystery of MO1!

Sabri may be hoping that the world’s biggest kleptocracy and money-laundering 1MDB scandal will end up like his “turtle-egg” scandal – lost in a maze of contradictory statements,  denials and bureaucratic inertia.

Can Sabri enlighten Malaysians what is the  outcome of his “turtle egg” scandal in Sandakan last August?

When Sabri’s “turtle egg” scandal first broke in November last year about his feast of “turtle eggs” with Beluran UMNO division chief James Ratib  in Sandakan three months  earlier, he put the blame squarely on Beluran UMNO as the organiser of the function responsible for serving turtle eggs.

Sabri denied eating turtle eggs as he had eaten fish at the dinner, claiming that it had been “a long time since I’ve eaten turtle eggs” as  it is “high in cholesterol”.

When Sabri said it was “a long time since I’ve eaten turtle eggs”, was it  a confession he had violated the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 which protected turtle eggs under Section 41(1) with a fine of RM50,000 or a jail sentence of up to five years, or both, upon conviction?

Later, new photographs appeared  in the social media showing a half-eaten, full-boiled egg on Sabri’s dinner plate, and the fresh evidence  provided a new impetus to the investigations by the Sabah Wildlife Department.

Sabri should tell Malaysians of the outcome of the investigations into the “turtle egg” dinner of the Umno Beluran division meeting dinner  at Restoran Indah Keranamu in Sandakan in August last year before his creates new confusion over the 1MDB  global scandal which is clearly  completely out of his depths.

Sabri would not  have made  any accusation that I am confused between a civil case and criminal case over the DOJ lawsuits if he had understood  simple English by verifying and reading my statements and speeches on the DOJ-1MDB issue since the admission by the Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of EPU, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan,  with BBC on Sept. 1 that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” in the DOJ lawsuits  is none other than Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

It is Sabri who is very confused – whether deliberately or otherwise – over the DOJ-1MDB controversy.

This was why while coming to the defence of the Inspector-General of Police, Sabri had no answer to  the question I had posed  whether the Police was going to haul up Abdul Rahman  for interrogation for admitting that “MO1” was Najib, in the same way the  DAP National Publicity Secretary, MP for PJ Utara and member of Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Tony Pua was hauled up by the police for investigation for naming Najib as the “Malaysian Official 1” figure in the DOJ lawsuits.

And if not, why not and the reason for the double standards in upholding law and administering justice in Malaysia?

Was the IGP and Police confused between criminal and a civil proceedings in the DOJ lawsuits, leading to double standards in the police treatment of Tony Pua and Abdul Rahman Dahlan?

Sabri was just echoing Khalid when repeating the fallacy that the DOJ was a civil suit and not a criminal proceeding.

Khalid was looking for a pathetic excuse to turn the Malaysian police’s blind eye to the series of criminal conduct in the international conspiracy in the multi-billion dollar theft, embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of 1MDB funds which formed the basis of the DOJ’s civil action in rem for the forfeiture of the 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

If the  persons named, whether directly or in code like “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”, “1MDB Officer 1”, “1MDB OFFICER 2”, “1MDB OFFICER 3”  in the 136-page DOS lawsuits had referred to Pakatan Harapan or civil society personalities, Sabri would undoubtedly be among the first to demand that the Police investigate the criminal conduct  against the individual personalities highlighted by the DOJ’s civil action!

As a law graduate of University of Malaya, Sabri should be calling on the Inspector-General of Police not to fail in his duty and higher national calling to act on the information in the DOJ lawsuits about the hosts of criminal conduct in the theft, embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of 1MDB funds which ran into tens of billions of ringgit,  completely without fear or favour of the high-ranking positions of the criminals implicated, instead of maintaining the fallacy and fiasco of the distinction between civil and criminal cases.

For instance, “1MDB Officer 3” was  identified in the DOJ lawsuits are “a Malaysian national who served as 1MDB’s general counsel and executive director of group strategy during, at a minimum, 2012 and 2013. 1MDB OFFICER 3 was a main point of contact between 1MDB and Goldman in connection with the three Goldman-underwritten bond offerings in 2012 and 2013.”

Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, who was previously 1MDB’s general counsel and executive director of group strategy, has been identified as “1MDB Officer 3”.

Bank Negara had made a public appeal for her whereabouts in July last year.

Paragraph 119 of the DOJ lawsuits revealed that in December 2012, US$5 million of the misappropriated 1MDB funds were transferred to a Swiss account “beneficially owned by 1MDB OFFICER 3”, who was then ”1MDB’s General Counsel and Executive Director of Group Strategy”.

Is Sabri and  IGP seriously suggesting that the Malaysian Police should  not be interested in this new information about the hosts of criminal conduct contributing to the Great Kleptocracy in the 1MDB global financial scandal, including the US$5 million which ended up in the Swiss account of “1MDB OFFICER 3”, the Swiss account’s actual owner?

If true, this does not speak highly about the efficiency, professionalism and integrity of  the Royal Malaysian Police Force as the country’s major national institution to uphold law and order and in the administration of justice in Malaysia.

Finally, is Sabri a Malaysian patriot?

Would he agree that the DOJ complaint involves two grave issues: firstly, the guilt and culpability of Najib and other “public officials and their associates” in Malaysia in the 1MDB global financial scandal; and secondly, the international indictment that Malaysia has become an overnight global kleptocracy.

Whether it is right, proper or ethical to allow time to elapse pending the outcome of the DOJ lawsuits  before determination of the question of Najib’s culpability in the 1MDB global financial scandal, it is clearly wrong, improper and unethical to allow Malaysia’s good name and reputation to continue to be besmirched and stained  without immediate national response and redress.

Would Sabri agree that there should be  a special session of Parliament this month to discuss how Malaysia should respond to defend and protect Malaysia’s national sovereignty and international good name and reputation by purging and cleansing Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy?

Two things can be done:  Firstly, as Prime Minister, Najib should be the foremost advocate and defender of Malaysia’s international reputation and good name by speaking at the United Nations General Assembly at the end of the month  to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy.

Secondly, an all-party parliamentary delegation should also be sent to the United Nations Special Assembly session to help purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy.

Is Sabri prepared to raise in Cabinet on  Wednesday  this issue of a special session of Parliament, Najib’s mission to the UN General Assembly and an all-party parliamentary delegation to the annual UN General Assembly session at the end of the month to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy?

Does Sabri agree that  all Malaysian organisations, whether political, civic, religious , commercial or even communal and clan associations, should take a common patriotic stand in a national and international campaign to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 5 September 2016, 2:07 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Luqman Al-Hikmah Versus Najib Al-Kebas

M. Bakri Musa

www.bakrimusa.com

5.9.2016

 Luqman Al-Hikmah (Luqman The Wise) is revered in Islam. There is a Surah (31) in the Koran named after him, chronicling his sage advice to his son. Those are wise words for anyone, anytime, and anywhere.

            Legend has it that once as a slave, his master ordered him to slaughter a sheep and bring its best and worst parts to him. Luqman did, and brought the animal’s heart and tongue. Intrigued, the next day the master asked him to do the same thing but this time to bring the worst parts. Luqman brought him again the heart and tongue.

            When asked, Luqman explained that when a sheep is halal, the heart and tongue are the sweetest parts. When it is haram, the two are the worst. Likewise with leaders; halal leaders’ words (the consequence of their tongue) and deeds (heart) inspire and bring out the best in their followers. They in turn make the world better. In contrast, the words and deeds of a Hitler agitate his followers and bring out the worst in them. They in turn wreck the world, theirs and ours. Brandishing a ketchup-soaked keris and stretching out a stiff-arm salute are but different deeds from the same heart.

            With individuals, the same attribute may be venerated in a pious person but detested in the corrupt. Prime Minister Najib values loyalty above everything else in his staff and ministers. Loyalty is the finest attribute you can heap upon a leader, but only when he is halal, meaning honest, competent, and does not betray the faith and trust you have in him. When he is not, then that loyalty is not only misplaced but also your most hideous attribute. You betray not only yourself and your values but also your fellow citizens’ and theirs.

            Hang Jebat put it best, “Raja adil raja di sembah; Raja zalim raja di sanggah.”

            Najib is confused about loyalty and what it stands for. His staff, ministers and supporters too are confused on whether their loyalty is to the country and its enshrined principles, or to a leader and his unbounded avarice. Had UMNO members been loyal to the person of Datuk Onn as leader back in 1951, Malaysia would still be a British colony today. Although he fought against and prevailed over the Malayan Union, Onn opposed merdeka.

            As Prime Minister, Najib should be loyal not to his party, ministers or supporters but to the oath of office he took in front of the King, and to the constitution he swore to uphold and defend. Loyalty to anyone or anything else is misplaced, even treasonous.

            In defending his hideous corrupt act with 1MDB, Najib points with pride to the BR1M grants to the poor. Caliph Bakar gave every man, woman and child twenty durham annually, long before economists advocated guaranteed minimum income. Credit Najib for implementing a good idea. However, lest it be forgotten he has also burdened Malaysians with the Goods and Services Tax. GST is the least progressive of taxes, meaning, the poor bears a disproportionate burden.

            The 2016 budget for BR1M is RM4.9 billion; the government estimates raking in RM5.6 with GST. The ledger does not favor the rakyat, especially the poor.

            If 1MDB funded BR1M, as Najib intimated, consider that the American DOJ alleges an estimated over US$3 billion (in excess of RM12B) have been corruptly siphoned off from that sovereign fund. Thus while Najib gives away RM4.9B in BR1M, Malaysian Official 1 has kebas (swiped off) over RM12B from 1MDB. The ledger again favors him to the tune in excess of RM7B.

            So unlike Luqman Al-Hikmah, we have Najib Al-Kebas. Loyalty to Al-Kebas would be the worst attribute in a Malaysian.

            Najib fessed up to swiping off hundreds of millions into his personal bank account. It was a “gift” from a Saudi sheikh, he claimed. For Malays, anything from the Holy Land is halal, even its flies and maggots.

            Would Najib have received the gift had he not been Prime Minister? Obviously not. Which means that the donation was to his office. Najib admitted as much when he said it was in appreciation for Malaysia’s fight against ISIS. Najib did not fight ISIS alone, Malaysians did. Thus the money should have gone to Treasury, not his personal account.

            Even in the days of generous foreign aid no nation ever received such a windfall, except Israel from America.

            When Najib’s ‘explanation’ did not sell even to UMNO members, he concocted yet another spin. It was a political donation. That satisfied UMNO “wise” ones, the likes of Shahril Samad and Ahmad Maslan with their MBAs, chartered accountant Wahid Omar, and lawyers Nazri and Azalina. Shahril and Maslan admitted to receiving a million or two from Najib. Crumbs really, but that satisfied them. Wahid was rewarded with the PNB chairmanship. Nazri and Azlina are still ministers. For these characters, loyalty is but a commodity with a price tag. Rather cheap, fitting their characters.

            Ponder this. Today Saudis can buy Malaysian elections by financing the party they favor. Tomorrow, Americans to Pakatan? How about China or Singapore to DAP? UMNO is Saudi’s current favored flavor. Tomorrow, PAS?

            Why not put up Malaysian elections to the highest bidder? That would simplify things and remove the charade. It would also be clean and transparent, with the rakyat benefitting from the cash. Do likewise with UMNO elections and distribute the loot to the members. At least they would get something. Right now Najib kebas (swiped) all, with only the crumbs falling to the lesser chiefs. Ordinary members are still waiting for the leftovers, if any.

            Legend also has it Luqman advised his son to be wary of women with heavy makeup. In today’s parlance, those who resort to plastic surgery and anti-ageing potions. They will end up spending everything you have, he cautioned. When Luqman died, his son ignored that advice. He partied and chased women with heavy makeup. Within a year he was bankrupt.

            If as Najib says that he fears only Allah, then heed His advice as revealed through Lukman Al-Hikmah.

            I risk flattering Najib and his supporters by mentioning him in the same breath with Luqman Al-Hikmah. Najib Al-Kebas has more in common with Luqman’s son. If Malaysians were to be spared the fate that befell Luqman’s son, then they ought to get rid of Al-Kebas.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 5 September 2016, 3:26 pm and is filed under
Bakri Musa
,
Financial Scandals
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


First Mahathir-Anwar meeting in 18 years an example for all Malaysians to act as patriots to rise above all differences to save Malaysia from  being a global kleptocracy heading towards a failed state

The historic meeting between Tun Mahathir and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the first in 18 years, should be an inspiring  example for all Malaysians to act as patriots to rise above all differences to save Malaysia from being a global kleptocracy heading towards a failed state.

Never before had Malaysia fallen so low in international esteem in the nation’s 59-year history as to have our credibility, honour, reputation and good name soiled and stained when we are regarded as an overnight global kleptocracy or suffered  the shame and dishonor as   the centerpiece of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) single largest kleptocracy lawsuit for the forfeiture of over US$1 billion of assets from US$3.5 billion ill-gotten gains derived  from the theft, embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering from the Malaysian national sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB.

This is the time for the convening of a  National Patriotic Summit for all Malaysians leaders and individuals, as well as organisations, whether political, civic, religious , commercial or even communal and clan associations, to come together to take a common patriotic stand in a national and international campaign to save Malaysia from worldwide infamy and to  purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international shame of being identified as an overnight global kleptocracy.

Malaysia is presenting a sorry international spectacle.

The United States has taken action to redeem  over US$1 billion assets from over US$3 billion stolen, embezzled, misappropriated and money-laundered from the national sovereign wealth fund for the benefit of “multiple individuals, including public officials and their associates” in an international conspiracy which involved “fraudulently divert billions of dollars from 1MDB through various means, including by defrauding foreign banks and by sending foreign wire communications in furtherance of the scheme, and thereafter, to launder the proceeds of that criminal conduct, including in and through US financial institutions.”

The 136-page DOJ indictment detailed the “criminal conduct” in the diversion of the 1MDB funds which “were used for the personal benefit of the co-conspirators and their relatives and associates, including to purchase luxury real estate in the United States, pay gambling expenses at Las Vegas casinos, acquire more than US$200 million in artwork, invest in a major New York real estate development project, and fund the production of major Hollywood films”.

1MDB maintained no interest in these assets and saw no returns on these investments.

Yet in Malaysia, the government has claimed total ignorance and surprise at such global kleptocracy and fraud although the key government strategist and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan had admitted to the world in a BBC interview on Sept.1 that  the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is the person named in code as “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” in the DOJ lawsuit which presented him as the  kingpin of the Malaysian “public officials and their associates” in the 1MDB kleptocracy and fraud.

Will the Cabinet, at its first Cabinet meeting tomorrow after Abdul Rahman’s stunning BBC admission, step out into the open to admit that the Prime Minister had been “fingered” in US DOJ’s single largest kleptocracy lawsuit and state what action it proposes to take to purge and cleanse not only Najib but Malaysia’s reputation from being identified as a global kleptocracy?

The Cabinet owe all Malaysians a full explanation as to why for over six weeks, the Ministers collectively have acted in an unimaginably cowardly and irresponsibly  in not daring to address frontally the issue of the DOJ lawsuits and Malaysia’s international infamy and notoriety as an overnight global kleptocracy.

Is the Cabinet going to continue to act in such an unimaginably cowardly and irresponsible manner by ignoring Abdul Rahman’s admission – with at least two Cabinet Ministers having said publicly they knew nothing about Abdul Rahman’s admission as they did not know that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is Najib?

The least the Cabinet should do tomorrow is to recognise the gravity of Malaysia’s becoming an overnight global kleptocracy by convening a Special Parliamentary session to debunk by infamy as well as entrusting the Prime Minister with the specific task of addressing the United Nations General Assembly to purge and cleanse Malaysia’s reputation as a global kleptocracy and convince the world community of the Malaysian government’s commitment to public integrity.

Furthermore, an all-party parliamentary delegation should be sent to the  UN General Assembly session to purge and cleanse Malaysia’s reputation as a global kleptocracy.

I do not expect the Cabinet meeting tomorrow to adopt any of these patriotic initiatives.

In such circumstances, let the “historic” meeting between Mahathir and Anwar yesterday mark the beginning of a new Malaysian journey where Malaysians who are the real patriots and  concerned about the future of Malaysia come together to save the country from being a global kleptocracy heading towards a failed state.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 6 September 2016, 1:50 pm and is filed under
Anwar Ibrahim
,
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Mahathir
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Cabinet today should endorse Abdul Rahman’s admission that “MALAYSIA OFFICIAL 1” is Najib and authorize IGP Khalid to re-open police investigations into the 1MDB scandal taking into account the information in the DOJ forfeiture lawsuit

The Cabinet meeting today should endorse the BBC admission by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” (“MO1”) is Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and  it should authorize the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to re-open police  investigations into the 1MDB scandal taking into account the information in the DOJ forfeiture lawsuit.

This is for two reasons:  Firstly, at least two Ministers, namely the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong and the Minister for Housing and Local Government, Datuk Noh Omar have expressed ignorance of the identity of “MO1” when asked by the press after Abdul Rahman’s BBC interview.

Secondly, the reasons given by Abdul Rahman that Najib was not named directly was because he was not part of the investigation by the various United States agencies under the US Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative is not a good, credible or tenable reason for the Malaysian police to turn a blind-eye to the  series of criminal conduct unveiled by the DOJ lawsuits on the embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of US$3.5 1MDB funds for the forfeiture of US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Apart from  the five persons named in the DOJ lawsuits – Jho Low, Raja Shahrir Aziz bin Abdul Aziz, “Eric” Tan, Khadem Abdulla AL QUBAISI and Mohamed Ahmed Badawy AL-HUSSEINY – four persons were  referred by code, viz “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”, “1MDB OFFICER 1”, “1MDB OFFICER 2” and “1MDB OFFICER 3”.

The Government through Abdul Rahman has admitted that “MO1” is Najib. The identity of “1MDB Officers 1, 2 and 3” are also easy to identify, namely Casey Tang Keng Chee who served as executive director of 1MDB from the time of its creation until approximately  March 2011 as “1MDB Officer 1”;  Datuk Shahrol Halmi who was 1MDB  chief executive officer from the beginning to March 2013 as “1MDB Officer 2” and Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, previously 1MDB’s general counsel and executive director of group strategy, as  “1MDB Officer 3”.

Both Casey Tang and Jasmine Loo are on the Bank Negara “wanted list”, sought by the Malaysian authorities in connection with financial crimes with regard to the 1MDB funds.

In the case of Shahrol, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report on 1MDB tabled in Parliament on April 6 had recommended action to be taken against him as he must take responsibility for the 1MDB global scandal.

The PAC Report said:

“In summary, PAC found the constraints and certain weaknesses in 1MDB management and board of directors.

“Particularly PAC was of the view that 1MDB ex-CEO Shahrol should take the responsibility for the weaknesses and constraints.

“As such, the enforcement agency was urged to probe Shahrol and other management.”

More than five months have passed. Have the police and the various enforcement agencies acted with efficiency, alacrity and promptness on the  the PAC recommendation as they had shown when Pakatan Harapan leaders and civil society personalities are involved?  All the police have to show in these past five months  are the various ludicrous accounts about various “phases” of police investigations into the PAC recommendation!

The US DOJ  filing alleged that “1MDB Officer 1” had misled banks and concealed certain facts from 1MDB’s board of directors in order to transfer US$700 million to Good Star Ltd, which in turn is owned by the Penang-born businessman Low Taek Jho (also known as Jho Low).

In the case of “1MDB Officer 3”, DOJ filing alleged that some US$1.367 billion had been siphoned from 1MDB during the ‘Aabar-BVI’ phase of the embezzlement.

Of these, about US$5 million ended up in a bank account in Zurich, Switzerland, on Dec 6, 2012, which was held under the name of ‘River Dee International SA’ and that  “1MDB Officer 3” was  the account’s actual owner.

The DOJ filings also state that 1MDB Official 3 is an authorised signatory of a bank account held in the name of Tanore Finance Corporation, which was used during March 2013 to transfer US$681 million to an Ambank account held by ‘Malaysian Official 1’.

On “1MDB Officer 2”, the DOJ alleged that many of the most significant deals involving theft, embezzlement and money-laundering of 1MDB funds  took place under his  watch as 1MDB CEO from the beginning to March 2013.

Are “1MDB Officer 1, 2 and 3” to enjoy immunity and impunity for their series of financial crimes in the same manner as “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”, on Abdul Rahman’s spurious ground that as they were not named directly, they were not the subject of investigations by the various US agencies and should not be subjected to investigations by the  Malaysian Police and other national agencies?

The Cabinet should be reminded of the Conference of Rulers’ statement issued on  October 6 last year expressing the concern of the nine royal rulers that the government quickly conclude investigations into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) affair and to take “the appropriate stern action” against those implicated.

Almost a year has passed and both concerns have not been met – there is no quick conclusion of investigations into the 1MDB global scandal and no “appropriate stern action” had been taken against those implicated!

Although the Conference of Rulers’ statement was welcomed at the time by Abdul Rahman as  Cabinet Minister and  the Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director, claiming that what the Rulers’ statement was in line with what the government wanted in the investigation on 1MDB, nothing is further from the truth.

As of today, 1MDB scandal is even further from resolution, growing ever bigger and mind-blowing, extending its international tentacles and turning Malaysia overnight into a global kleptocracy!

Will the Cabinet  at long last act at its meeting today – seven long weeks after the DOJ lawsuits filed on July 20-  not only to bring an end to  the  protracted 1MDB global financial scandal but to show there are enough patriots among the Ministers to  take proactive measures to purge and cleanse Malaysia’s new reputation as an overnight  global kleptocracy?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7 September 2016, 7:54 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Murmurs of Early Malaysia Election After Najib Weathers Storms

Shamim Adam

Bloomberg

September 9, 2016

There’s the whisper of an early election in the air in Malaysia.

Prime Minister Najib Razak and senior officials of his ruling United Malays National Organisation have used dozens of annual party events across the country in recent weeks to exhort members — the bulk of whom are ethnic Malays — to get out and meet potential voters, especially younger ones.

Amid repeated references to the next general election, it’s raising speculation Malaysians will head to the polls before the due date of the middle of 2018. Some senior UMNO officials say it could be as soon as March.

Najib, 63, has weathered more than a year of turmoil amid political attacks over a funding scandal that left foreign investors wondering at times if he would survive in the job. Getting an election win under his belt could dispel doubts about his ability to lead, while providing him with a new mandate to implement economic reforms for a long-touted goal of becoming a developed nation by 2020.

“March has been talked about,” said an UMNO division leader from a southern state, who asked not to be identified, citing the confidential nature of the information. “And why not? The opposition is not together. We are ready as we can be for elections.”

Another UMNO division leader from a different state also said March was being discussed. The two officials asked not to be identified as the talks are private. They also noted no decision has been taken on the election timing.

UMNO leaders are making plans to appeal to the youth and urban vote, with a suggestion by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that the party adopt a “hipster” culture. A  component party of the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional coalition said it will announce candidates in October, rather than wait until the “very last minute” to unveil its team.

“We have been instructed by Barisan Nasional to get ready, to get the party machinery in order and prepare for the general election,” said Dominic Lau, vice president of the Gerakan party, whose members are mostly ethnic Chinese. “Of course, the only person who would know when it would be is the prime minister.”

Analysts are mixed on whether it makes sense for Najib to hold the vote next year, or wait until nearer the 2018 deadline to dissolve parliament.

One factor that could tilt the balance for a snap poll is the fractured opposition, which has struggled this year in by-elections and a state poll. But some say weakening growth and the spotlight of global probes into billions allegedly embezzled from state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd. are reasons for Najib to delay.

“Ideally, they would want to hold elections when people feel they are materially better off,” said Sholto Byrnes, a senior fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. “Having it at a time when oil and commodity prices are so low, when there’s been a lot of fluctuation in the ringgit, negative talk about the economy — I would feel from those points of view, it’s a riskier time to hold elections sooner.”

For the last election in May 2013, Najib waited until the last minute to dissolve parliament, after two years of hints. As he vacillated, the opposition grew stronger, giving Barisan Nasional its worst result in more than five decades in power, including its first-ever loss of the popular vote.

The tables have since turned. Infighting and policy differences have torn the opposition alliance apart, while Barisan Nasional secured bigger wins in the Sarawak state poll in May and two by-elections in June. That’s even as Najib battled graft allegations and efforts by a former leader to remove him.

Najib’s office didn’t reply to a request for comments on the possibility of an early vote, while an UMNO spokesman wouldn’t elaborate on the speculation. Najib has denied wrongdoing and suggested he was the target of a conspiracy by opponents led by mentor-turned-nemesis Mahathir Mohamad. The attorney-general cleared him of graft in January.

Barisan Nasional should exploit the opposition disunity to go to an election soon, Ahmad Shabery Cheek, an UMNO Supreme Council member and cabinet minister, was cited as saying last month by the official Bernama news agency. Other UMNO divisional chiefs — the bulk of whom have stood by Najib — said they are hearing whispers of early elections from the premier’s inner circle.

There are tentative signs the opposition is attempting to unify, and Najib may not want to wait for them to try. A new party — known as Bersatu — has been formed by Mahathir and is targeting UMNO’s support base of ethnic Malays.

“Given how pressurized Najib is by events and by the scandals surrounding him, the need to strategize instead of wait is great,” said Ooi Kee Beng, deputy director of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. “It should not surprise anyone that elections are called some time next year.”

Najib is pushing some constituencies to recapture seats that fell to the opposition, and said he’s trying to allocate more funds for rural development in next month’s budget. Other overtures include cheaper subway fares in the capital Kuala Lumpur for early commuters, and possible measures to help middle-income earners buy a home.

Barisan Nasional spent more than 1.5 billion ringgit ($370 million) in the 2013 election, Malaysiakini reported in March, citing Idris Haron, chief minister of Malacca state. Malaysia has caps on how much individual candidates can spend contesting a seat but there are no curbs on parties.

While Najib has prevailed amid what’s arguably one of his toughest years in four decades in politics, the challenges are far from over. A U.S. Department of Justice civil suit seeks to seize more than $1 billion in assets that prosecutors allege was siphoned from troubled fund 1MDB, whose advisory board Najib chaired until recently. The DOJ said at least $700 million flowed into accounts controlled by a top Malaysian official whose description fits Najib.

The premier previously acknowledged a similar amount went into his accounts before the 2013 election. He’s said the money was a donation from the Saudi royal family and most was later returned.

“Given the size and complexity of the transactions, and the cross-border nature of the case, it may not be resolved quickly,” said Eric Berg, a litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP in Wisconsin and former attorney at the DOJ’s Kleptocracy Initiative. “There are many moving parts and the time line we are looking at would be measured in years, not months.”

Barisan Nasional may tap a mood of patriotism as Malaysia commemorates its 60th year of independence next year. In neighboring Singapore, the ruling party retained power with a bigger majority in 2015 amid massive festivities for its 50th anniversary.

Still, attempts for a celebratory atmosphere may be tempered by tepid consumer confidence, which has languished below the level of optimism for the past two years. There is residual public anger over a goods and services tax implemented in early 2015, while household debt remains among the highest in Southeast Asia.

Last month, a small group of students paraded caricatures of Najib on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, demanding his arrest. The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections plans an anti-Najib rally in November, similar to one that brought out an estimated 300,000 people in August 2015.

“Najib will want to call for elections only when things are very sure,” said Wong Chin Huat, a political analyst at the Penang Institute. “He won’t say ‘I will go in now, I will take the gamble.’ As long as you tell him the odds are against him, he would rather wait.”

                This entry was posted on Friday, 9 September 2016, 2:51 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Is Malaysia going to  continue to bumble and bungle on the world stage pretending that we are unaffected by the new notoriety of an overnight global kleptocracy?

The following was written three days after the live telecast of the  Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 59th National Day Message urging Malaysians to treasure “moments of unity” so that Malaysian can become great and respected the world over as “a glittering eastern star”:

“Semenjak Merdeka, tidak ada satu tahun di mana kita menyambut kemerdekaan dalam keadaan negara seperti tahun ini, di mana pemimpin-pemimpin Kerajaan menghadapi krisis integriti yang paling serius dan imej yang paling teruk. Sebabnya boleh disimpulkan dengan satu perkataan: rasuah.

“Umumnya, pemimpin-pemimpin politik sudah tidak boleh hendak dihormati dan diteladani untuk tujuan yang baik lagi. Selain daripada mereka disorak (cheered) oleh penyokong-penyokong mereka yang berkepentingan, yang mengharapkan sesuatu habuan atau yang tidak tahu dan terikut-ikut, paling tinggi, mereka hanya ditolerated oleh pegawai-pegawai awam yang berkerja di bawah mereka dan tiada pilihan. Dalam keadaan itu, kita lihat, masa depan negara menurun dan menurun.”

Was this written by political leaders from DAP, PKR or AMANAH in Pakatan Harapan?  Or was it by former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir?

None of the above. It was penned by a former topmost public official, former Chief Justice, Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad who held the highest judicial post in the land from 2007 to 2008.

It reeks of contempt by public officials, especially former top public servants, for the government of the day because of rampant corruption in the country.

How can Malaysia command the respect of the world as “a glittering eastern star” when there is so much contempt for the government of the day not only by the intelligentsia in Malaysia, but by the public officials and former public officials?

When I came across Abdul Hamid’s caustic comments about the government of the day – to provide some balance, he also expressed contempt for the political opposition – the question that crossed my mind was: Is Malaysia going to  continue to bumble and bungle on the world stage pretending that we are unaffected by the new notoriety of an overnight global kleptocracy?

For the seventh week at its meeting on Wednesday this week, the Cabinet evaded “the elephant in Malaysia” – the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s single biggest kleptocratic action for forfeiture of US$1 billion assets resulting from the theft, embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of US$3.5 billion 1MDB funds in the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland –  irresponsibly and unpatriotically keeping to the stance that the DOJ lawsuits were a problem and matter  for the United States and not for Malaysia!

The Cabinet on Wednesday should have taken an official stand on the DOJ action, especially as the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan  had admitted in a BBC interview that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” (“MO1”) is Prime Minister Seri Najib Razak himself and to  authorize the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to re-open police investigations into the 1MDB scandal taking into account the information in the DOJ forfeiture lawsuits.

There were at least two reasons why this should be done: Firstly, at least two Ministers, namely the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong and the Minister for Housing and Local Government, Datuk Noh Omar have publicly expressed ignorance of the identity of “MO1” when asked by the press after Abdul Rahman’s BBC interview.  Is the Malaysian Cabinet, collectively and officially, unaware of who is “MO1”?

Secondly, the reasons given by the Inspector-General of Police that Najib was not named directly was because he was not part of the investigation by the various United States agencies under the US Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative is not a good, credible or tenable reason for the Malaysian police to turn a blind-eye to the series of criminal conduct unveiled by the DOJ lawsuits on the embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of US$3.5 1MDB funds for the forfeiture of US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Who can save Malaysia from the international ignominy of being identified as an overnight global kleptocracy?

I had called on all Malaysian organisations, whether political, civic, religious , commercial or even communal and clan associations, to take a common patriotic stand in a national and international campaign to defend the international good name and reputation of Malaysia and to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy.

The former Chief Justice has a different proposal.

Writing on his website on Sept. 2, entitled “PEGAWAI AWAM SEBAGAI PENYELAMAT NEGARA”, he called on public servants to be the national saviours in this darkest hour of the nation’s international reputation by launching a national campaign to make a public pledge: “Kami tidak akan terlibat dengan rasuah”, so as to shame the corrupt political leaders in government.

Will the public officials step forward to save the country from the international ignominy of a global kleptocracy?

There are no indications that the former Chief Justice’s proposal will be taken up by any sector of the public service, as more than a week had passed since Tun Mohamad’s writing on his website.

Who can be the saviours of the country if the public officials are excluded?

The question must remain heavy in the minds of all patriotic Malaysians – Is Malaysia going to  continue to bumble and bungle on the world stage pretending that we are unaffected by the new notoriety of an overnight global kleptocracy, to the extent that the Prime Minister dare not personally turn up at the United Nations General Assembly at the end of this month to give what should be  his most important speech as Prime Minister to defend the nation’s dignity and prestige and to  purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international infamy of an overnight global kleptocracy under his stewardship?

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 10 September 2016, 12:02 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Financial Scandals
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


UMNO leaders are  jittery and some panic-stricken about political developments in UMNO and  Malaysia – particularly with the formation of a new political party by Mahathir and Muhyiddin

Although UMNO leaders  put up a bold external front and feigned indifference and even contempt for the new political party being formed by former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and former Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, there is no doubt that they are quaking internally.

This is not without basis as illustrated by today’s developments in Johor UMNO, where two Johor UMNO veterans quit the party – the Gelang Patah UMNO permanent chairperson and former State Assemblyman Baharom Abdul Ghani and the Kulai UMNO deputy chief, Tosrin Jarvanti – at their respective UMNO division annual meetings on the ground that UMNO has deviated from its political struggle  and could not be salvaged any more as it  had become the property of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Equally eloquent are the speeches early today by two UMNO Ministers at the various UMNO divisional meetings in the country which show that UMNO leaders are jittery and some panic-stricken about political developments in Malaysia, particularly in UMNO – the quite hysterical speech by UMNO Supreme Council member and Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who said that UMNO members should torpedo Mahathir’s boat before he sinks UMNO and the speech by the UMNO Youth Leader, Khairy Jamaluddin beseeching UMNO member to remain loyal to the party and cannot be fence-sitters.

The historic meeting between Mahathir and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the first in 18 years, has added to the sense of gloom and doom among UMNO membership, despite the brave front put up by some UMNO leaders – like the UMNO Secretary-General Tengku Adnan who said that “Mahathir can have Anwar, UMNO has the rakyat” and the  outburst of the Communications and Multimedia Minister, Datuk Seri Salleh Syed Keruak who likened “Mahathir’s kiss is a kiss of death”.

This sense of gloom and doom is best reflected by the implicit admission by Ismail Sabri that Mahathir’s new party had the potential and capability to “sink UMNO”!

It is a political tragedy in Malaysia that are  political leaders who would have no qualms to resort to the politics of extremism, whether racial or religious, to cling on to power, however irrational and ridiculous their allegations.

The DAP had been accused of being anti-Malay or anti-Islam when DAP is a party for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, as we want to win the support of all Malaysians to build a Malaysia all citizens can feel proud, whether inside the country or internationally.

DAP has also been accused of  being the political puppet-master which had at one time made  PKR, PAS, Amanah and now Mahathir and Muhyiddin as our stooges.

These are ludicrous and baseless charges and time will prove that there is no basis in them, as DAP leaders, members and supporters are Malaysian patriots who want to co-operate with other Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or even politics, to save Malaysia from becoming a failed state and the international infamy of an overnight global kleptocracy.

The issues of integrity, human rights  and good governance are not  racial or religious issues, and I am glad that this is recognised by more and more Malaysians.

Even the former Chief Justice, Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad  who had not proved himself to be a model Malaysian citizen had realised this when he wrote the following on his website a week ago:

“Semenjak Merdeka, tidak ada satu tahun di mana kita menyambut kemerdekaan dalam keadaan negara seperti tahun ini, di mana pemimpin-pemimpin Kerajaan menghadapi krisis integriti yang paling serius dan imej yang paling teruk. Sebabnya boleh disimpulkan dengan satu perkataan: rasuah.

“Umumnya, pemimpin-pemimpin politik sudah tidak boleh hendak dihormati dan diteladani untuk tujuan yang baik lagi. Selain daripada mereka disorak (cheered) oleh penyokong-penyokong mereka yang berkepentingan, yang mengharapkan sesuatu habuan atau yang tidak tahu dan terikut-ikut, paling tinggi, mereka hanya ditolerated oleh pegawai-pegawai awam yang berkerja di bawah mereka dan tiada pilihan. Dalam keadaan itu, kita lihat, masa depan negara menurun dan menurun.”

The future of Malaysia lies in the ability of the majority of Malaysians to realise that  Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics, share a common future destiny and that issues like corruption, human rights and good governance must  not be seen through racial or religious tinted glasses but from the perspectives of a Malaysian citizen.

For instance, only  those who are not patriotic and do not love Malaysia are prepared to allow Malaysia to suffer the ignominy of being regarded in international circles as an overnight global kleptocracy.

DAP is prepared to work and co-operate with all Malaysians , including current and former UMNO members, and Malaysian organisations, whether political, civic, religious or commercial to take a common patriotic stand in a national and international campaign to defend the international good name and reputation of Malaysia and to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international indictment of an overnight global kleptocracy.

This is the greatest challenge of Malaysians today – whether we are prepared to rise above all political differences to defend the nation’s dignity and prestige  to purge and cleanse Malaysia of the international infamy of an overnight global kleptocracy.

(Speech  at the Pesta Tanglung Taman Sri Pulai, Gelang Patah on Saturday, 10th September 2016 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 11 September 2016, 11:19 am and is filed under
Anwar Ibrahim
,
Mahathir
,
Najib Razak
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.