US Lawsuit Against Malaysia’s 1MDB: Who is ‘Official 1’?

By Mong Palatino

The Diplomat

July 29, 2016

The clues point to only one person.

The United States Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against some individuals accused of using an investment firm owned by the Malaysian government to steal more than $1 billion.

The lawsuit also mentioned a certain “Malaysian Official 1,” prompting many to ask if it refers to Prime Minister Najib Razak since he has control over the 1Malaysian Development Berhad (1MDB) investment firm and his stepson is one of the accused.

The lawsuit aims to recover some 17 assets in the United States, which have been allegedly acquired through 1MDB funds.

U.S. officials said the lawsuit is the “largest single action ever brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.” They vowed to return the funds to the Malaysian people.

“The Department of Justice will not allow the American financial system to be used as a conduit for corruption. With this action, we are seeking to forfeit and recover funds that were intended to grow the Malaysian economy and support the Malaysian people.  Instead, they were stolen, laundered through American financial institutions and used to enrich a few officials and their associates,” an excerpt of the statement issued by the U.S. DOJ reads.

“The United States will not be a safe haven for assets stolen by corrupt foreign officials,” said Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.  “Public corruption, no matter where it occurs, is a threat to a fair and competitive global economy.

Najib is suspected by many to be the “Malaysian Official 1,” who is cited 36 times in the 136-page lawsuit. It’s not the first time that his name has been implicated in a corruption scandal. Previously, he has been accused of pocketing more than $600 million dollars through anomalous transactions. He didn’t deny ownership of these dollar bank accounts but he claimed the funds were a political donation from a royal family in Saudi Arabia.

If more hints are needed about the identity of “Malaysian Official 1,” many Malaysians believe the text of the lawsuit provides enough evidence.

For example, paragraph 28 of the report describes “Malaysian official 1″ as “a high-ranking official in the Malaysian Government who also held a position of authority with 1MDB.”

Paragraph 29 names Najib’s stepson: “Riza Shahriz bin Abdul Aziz (‘Aziz), a Malaysian national, is a relative of Malaysian Official 1.”

Paragraph 39 details some of the powers of the prime minister. “Malaysian Official 1 had the authority to approve all appointment to, and removals from, 1MDB’s Board of Directors and 1MDB’s Senior Management Team. In addition, any financial commitment by 1MDB, including investments, that are likely to affect a guarantee given by the Government of Malaysia for the benefit of 1MDB or any policy of the Malaysian Government, required the approval of Malaysian Official1.”

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is calling for the resignation of Najib, urged the United States to name Najib in the lawsuit.

“If the U.S. really believes in eradicating corruption and money laundering which involves their country, they should not be shy about naming names and letting due process to take place,” he wrote in his blog.

“Merely seizing the stolen money does not nullify the crime. The only logical sequence to the seizures of stolen money is the criminal charge against the thieves. How is the DOJ of the USA going to charge the Malaysian Official 1 without naming him?” Mahathir added.

Interestingly, Najib’s camp is challenging the Malaysian citizens named in the lawsuit to clear their own names. Najib’s supporters are also asserting that there is no need for the prime minister to present counter evidence since his name is not mentioned in the report.

There seems little debate about the identity of “Malaysian Official 1.” For majority of Malaysians, it’s none other than Najib. Hopefully, the U.S. DOJ report will help Malaysians retrieve the stolen funds and assets; and more importantly, seek justice against the well-entrenched kleptocrats.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 July 2016, 9:25 am and is filed under
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Will Najib deny he is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” or will he admit he is being referred to in DOJ legal suits and sue the US Attorney-General Loretta for defamation?

The identity of “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” in the 136-page US Department of Justice (DOJ) legal suits for the forfeiture of over US$1 billion of assets in United States stolen, embezzled or defrauded from 1MDB and the people of Malaysia still  await official confirmation.

Although the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has not been named personally in the DOJ legal suits, it is no exaggeration to say that the identity of “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” has received remarkable concurrence whether locally or internationally – that it could only refer to Najib and nobody else.

Will Najib deny he is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” or will he admit he is being referred to in DOJ legal suits and sue the US Attorney-General Loretta for defamation?

The United States Attorney-General Loretta E. Lynch, said at her press conference on July 20 that the 1MDB was “intended to grow the Malaysian economy and support the Malaysian people.  Instead, they were stolen, laundered through American financial institutions and used to enrich a few officials and their associates.  Corrupt officials around the world should make no mistake that we will be relentless in our efforts to deny them the proceeds of their crimes. ”

Anyone who has read the 136-page DOJ legal suits would be shocked by the breadth of the alleged embezzlement, corruption and money laundering related to the 1MDB funds, and the “massive, brazen and blatant diversion of billions of dollars to be laundered through U.S. financial institutions”.

As “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is described  as a king-pin of the multi-billion ringgit 1MDB global embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption, will Najib therefore institute legal proceedings against the US Attorney-General for defamation?

(Speech at the Johore DAP  SSS LGE gathering in  Batu Pahat on  Thursday, 28th  July 2016 at 9 pm)

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Najib should not take Malaysians for fools or simpletons in declaring that 1MDB not directly involved in DOJ law suits as without 1MDB there would be no DOJ legal action for forfeiture of over US$1 billion MDB-linked assets in United States

I am most shocked that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said after the UMNO Supreme Council meeting this evening that 1MDB is not directly involved in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) report, which is probably a  a justification for no government or official response to the DOJ legal suits for forfeiture of over US$1 billion assets in United States which the American authorities alleged had  been stolen, misappropriated, defrauded or diverted from 1MDB as a result of global embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption crimes.

Najib said the DPJ civil suits did  not contain any information or views from the Malaysian government, Attorney-General’s Chambers or 1MDB itself.

He added that “only those specifically named in the report are mentioned in the report” and that 1MDB is not directly involved in the report.

Najib cannot be more wrong.

Najib should not take Malaysians for fools or simpletons in declaring that 1MDB is  not directly involved in DOJ law suits as without 1MDB there would be no DOJ legal action for forfeiture of over US$1 billion MDB-linked assets in United States.

In fact, without 1MDB, the DOJ 136-page legal suits would  have no legs to stand on and would immediately collapse.

 “1MDB” is strewn all over the 136-page report, and in the first 20 pages, there are over  130 references.

How then can Najib say that 1MDB is not directly involved in the DOJ report?

Although the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has not been named personally in the DOJ legal suits, it is no exaggeration to say that the identity of “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”  mentioned 36 times in the 136-page DOJ report has received remarkable concurrence whether locally or internationally – that it could only refer to Najib and nobody else.

Let me ask Najib a question I had posed in Batu Pahat last night  – whether Najib  will deny he is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” or will he admit he is being referred to in DOJ legal suits and sue the US Attorney-General Loretta Lynch for defamation for implying or insinuating that he was  involved  in the global multi-billion ringgit theft, embezzlement, misappropriation or money-laundering of 1MDB funds?

The United States Attorney-General Loretta E. Lynch, said at her press conference on July 20 that the 1MDB was “intended to grow the Malaysian economy and support the Malaysian people.  Instead, they were stolen, laundered through American financial institutions and used to enrich a few officials and their associates.  Corrupt officials around the world should make no mistake that we will be relentless in our efforts to deny them the proceeds of their crimes.”

Anyone who has read the 136-page DOJ legal suits would be shocked by the breadth of the alleged embezzlement, corruption and money laundering related to the 1MDB funds, and the “massive, brazen and blatant diversion of billions of dollars to be laundered through U.S. financial institutions”.

As “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is described  as a king-pin of the multi-billion ringgit 1MDB global embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption, will Najib therefore institute legal proceedings against the US Attorney-General for defamation?

(Speech  at the Stulang DAP Solidarity Dinner held in Johor Baru on Friday, 29th July 2016 at 10 pm)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 July 2016, 11:48 am and is filed under
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Three reasons why Dzulkifi Ahmad is most inappropriate as the new MACC chief!

The decapitation of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), with the simultaneous removal of the three top officers of the MACC, was supposed to mark the end-game of a year-long strategy to remove all obstacles to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on his game-plan  over his two global financial scandals which started in July last year – with the sackings of the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Gani Patail, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Senior Cabinet Minister, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Mukriz Mahathir, the dissolution of the high-level Special Task Force on 1MDB, the derailment of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) investigations into 1MDB and the arrests, immediate transfer, harassment and intimidation of key officers in the key national enforcement or investigation agencies whether the Police, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Bank Negara or the MACC.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) legal suits on July 20 to forfeit over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States has however come as a “wrench in the works”, destroying Najib’s well-orchestrated plan since last year to make his twin mega scandals vanish into thin air in Malaysia on the ground that they are no more issues as they had been resolved.

The decapitation of MACC with the removal of its top three leaders and the appointment of the new MACC chief, Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad from the Attorney-General’s Chambers could not have come at a worse time in terms of securing public confidence, national and international,  in the independence, integrity and professionalism of key national institutions and top public servants.

There are at least  three reasons why Dzulkifi Ahmad is most inappropriate for the post as the new MACC chief.

Firstly, Dzulkifli is too junior for the post of MACC Chief Commissioner, as he had to be upgraded to Jusa A Superscale in order to be appointed to head the MACC.

Secondly, his appointment is most inappropriate at a time when the country’s is facing  international odium and opprobrium as a “kleptocracy”  arising from the US DOJ’s biggest kleptocracy suit exceeding US$1 billion of assets  involving the Malaysia’s national sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB.

Dzulkifli had  played a key role in helping clear Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak over the 1MDB and RM2.6 billion issues, and during the Jan 26 press conference where Attorney-General Tan Sri Apandi Ali announced that there were no grounds to file charges against the prime minister, Dzulkifli  was seated next to him.

Thirdly, how could Dzulkifli be appropriate for the post of the new MACC chief when he and his erstwhile superior, the Attorney-General Tan Sri Apandi Ali, are unable to identify who is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” cited 36 times in the 136-page DOJ suits although any well-informed reader, in Malaysia or elsewhere in the world, would have no difficulty in concluding who is  the person referred to as “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”.

Malaysians must ask  whether a person who does not know who is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” referred to in the 136-page DOJ document, and not prepared to take the necessary follow-up actions, despite very unmistakable identifications in the DOJ report, , is a fit and proper person to head the country’s anti-corruption agency.

(Speech at the Sri Kembangan DAP SSS LGE Dinner in Serdang, Selangor on Saturday, July 31, 2016 at 9 pm)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 31 July 2016, 3:09 pm and is filed under
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For national pride and international reputation, it is untenable for Malaysian government to adopt a “wait and see” attitude and basically  ignore the US DOJ legal action to forfeit over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in United States

The Najib government seems to have decided on a strategy to “wait and see” and basically to ignore  the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) legal action to forfeit over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, as reflected by  the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s statement after the UMNO Supreme Council meeting on Friday.

Najib said that 1MDB was not directly involved in the DOJ’s civil suits, as 1MDB was not named in the civil complaint and there were no 1MDB assets in the United States.

He said only certain individuals were named in the civil complaint.

He said: “We view the (DOJ) report seriously, and those named must clear their names, in accordance with legal provisions.”

Although the DOJ legal suits specifically named five persons, namely elusive Penang billionaire and 1MDB “mastermind” Jho Low, his associate  “Eric” Tan Kim Loong, Najib’s stepson Riza Shahriz bin Aziz, and the two key operatives of the Abu Dhabi companies, Khadem Abdullah  AL-QUBAISI  and Mohamed Ahmed Badawy AL-HUSSEINY,  four other persons were named in codes – (1) MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1; (2) 1MDB OFFICER 1; (3) 1MDB  OFFICER 2 and (4) 1MDB OFFICER 3.

From the identification references to “MALAYSIA OFFICIAL 1” in the 136-DOJ complaint, for instance referring to “MALAYSIA OFFICIAL 1” as “a high-ranking official in the Malaysian government who also held a position of authority with 1MDB” and linking Riza as “a relative of MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”, the only conclusion point to Najib as “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”.

Did Najib admit to the first Cabinet meeting after the US DOJ action  on 27th July or to the  UMNO Supreme Council meeting on 29th July that he is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” referred to in the DOJ complaint, or did any Minister at the Cabinet meeting or any UMNO leader at the UMNO Supreme Council meeting asked Najib whether he was the person referred to?

Or have Malaysian politics and governance degenerated to a stage where no Minister in Cabinet or UMNO leader at the UMNO Supreme Council dared to ask Najib such a simple and  straightforward question?

How can  the Prime Minister, the Attorney-General or the Malaysian government as a whole put up a pretence that the DOJ legal action had nothing to do with the national sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB, when Paragraph 5 of the DOJ action made it very clear that it was “a civil action in rem to forfeit assets involved in and traceable to an international conspiracy to launder money misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a strategic investment and development  company wholly-owned by the government of Malaysia”?

The DOJ action went on to plead that the forfeiture of property in the United States and abroad, including in the United Kingdom and Switzerland, were pursuant to US laws on the ground that it was derived from violation of US laws for one or more money-laundering offences in the United States.

The 136-page DOJ complaint was shameful reading by Malaysians, as to how 1MDB, “ostensibly created to pursue investment and development projects for the economic benefit of Malaysia and its people, primarily relying on the issuance of various debt securities to fund these projects” became a cover for criminal conduct for global multi-billion ringgit embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption.

This was revealed in Paragraph 6 of the DOJ complaint:

“However, over the course of an approximately four-year period, between approximately 2009 and at least 2013, multiple individuals, including public officials and their associates, conspired to 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 U.S. financial institutions.

“The funds diverted from 1MDB 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 $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.”

For national pride and international reputation, it is untenable for the Malaysian government to adopt a “wait and see” attitude and basically  ignore the US DOJ legal action to forfeit over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in United States.

Patriotic Malaysians who care about our national pride and international reputation expect the Malaysian government to act with greater alacrity to protect Malaysia’s image, especially Najib himself had been virtually accused as a “conspirator” of the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scam,  and not to adopt a “wait- and-see” attitude and basically to ignore the DOJ proceedings, which according to a Q&A on the Malaysian AG’s website, could take years to complete.

Can Malaysians expect a responsible and commensurate government response to the DOJ action at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday?

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 August 2016, 2:25 pm and is filed under
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Has the question “Who is ‘MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1’” become a crime and is the speculation that ‘MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1’ could only be Prime Minister Najib a heinous crime in Malaysia?

The hour-long questioning  of DAP National Publicity Secretary and MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua, by the Malaysian Communications and  Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for his two Facebook postings after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) legal suits to forfeit over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States under the US Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative 2010 raises two important public-interest questions:

Firstly, whether the question “Who is ‘MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1’” mentioned 36 times in the 136-page 513-paragraph DOJ complaint as one of the kingpins of the global  multi-billion ringgit 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption is a crime; and

Secondly, whether speculation from the various  identification given in the DOJ complaint  on “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” that the person referred to could only be Prime Minister Najib Razak although no name was mentioned is  a heinous crime in Malaysia?

Malaysians do not want their Prime Minister to be mockingly referred to as “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” or “MO1”, whether in local or international circles,  which immediately brings to mind the image of Malaysia as the top “kleptocracy” in the world and the DOJ legal action on the  global scandal of the multi-billion dollar 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption.

I had asked the  Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak immediately after the DOJ complaint on July 20 to deny that he is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” referred to, or to confirm the identity and declare what he proposes to do to clear not only the name of the Malaysian Prime Minister, but the Malaysian Government and the Malaysian nation.

It is some two weeks since the DOJ complaint and the Prime Minister, as well as all the heads of the key national enforcement and investigative agencies, like the Attorney-General, the Inspector-General of Police, the Bank Negara Governor and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Chief Commissioner have all maintained a studied silence.

Could it be that all the top-notch chiefs of our key national institutions could not decipher who is the “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” referred to in the DOJ complaint when  ordinary Malaysians have no difficulty in identifying him?

The Cabinet meeting tomorrow should end this charade, and should either declare that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” in the DOJ complaint is not Prime Minister Najib, or acknowledge that Najib was the person referred to and to state what the Government proposes to do to establish that the Prime Minister was not in any way involved in the global multi-billion dollar 1MDB embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption which formed the subject of the DOJ complaint, and to redeem Malaysia’s national dignity and international reputation from being stained and besmirched  as one of the top kleptocracies in the world.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 August 2016, 1:12 pm and is filed under
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Call on the Auditor-General and PAC to re-open investigations into 1MDB as the DOJ complaint about billion-dollar 1MDB global embezzlement, misappropriation, money-laundering and corruption have far-reaching impact on their Reports on 1MDB

DAP PJ Utara MP, Tony Pua has rightly castigated the Second Finance Minister, Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani for his indifference and lack of concern over Deloitte’s disavowal of its audited accounts for 1MDB for the years 2013 and 2014.

A week after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) civil action for forfeiture of over US$1billion 1MDB-linked assets out of US$3.5 billion misappropriated from 1MDB, Deloitte Malaysia said its audit of 1MDB in 2013 and 2014 would have been impacted if it had known at that time the information contained in the DOJ lawsuits to seize 1MDB-linked assets.

As such, Deloitte said that  1MDB’s 2013 and 2014 financial statements, which the auditing firm signed off on March 28, 2014 and Nov 5, 2014, “should no longer be relied upon”.

Johari’s statement on Monday that there was no impact on 1MDB for saying the 2013 and 2014 accounts that Deloitte edited should no longer be relied on is most irresponsible and shocking, and shows how little regard the Malaysian Government has for credibility, integrity, best  corporate practices and good governance.

Even more serious, the Deloitte disavowal is a major blow to the Malaysian government stance to basically ignore the DOJ complaint and to adopt a “wait-and-see” attitude until the outcome of the DOJ suits, expecting it to  take years!

Deloitte said that the information about  the 1MDB multi-billion ringgit embezzlement, misappropriation,  money-laundering and corruption  contained in the DOJ complaint would have impacted on the Deloitte’s audited reports for 1MDB.

The same question must now be asked as to how the DOJ complaint and information would have impacted on the Auditor-General’s and the Public Accounts Committee Reports on 1MDB, and whether both the Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee will re-open investigations into 1MDB, by seeking for the information stated in the DOJ complaint from the US authorities.

It is noteworthy that at end of the 136-page DOJ legal suits, there is a sworn “verification” by the Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Robert B. Heuchling  “under penalty of perjury” that “I have read the foregoing Verified Complaint for Forfeiture
In Rem
and know the contents thereof, and that the matters contained in the Verified Complaint are true to the best of my knowledge and belief” and  “The sources of my knowledge and information and the grounds of my belief are official files and records of the United States, publicly available files and historical information, information supplied to me by other law enforcement officers, experts and other witnesses, as well as my investigation in this case, together with others, as a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigations”.

The Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee should re-open investigations into 1MDB and  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 have far-reaching impact on their Reports on 1MDB.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 3 August 2016, 12:37 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia forfeits US support with 1MDB graft

FT View

Financial Times

3rd August 2016

Najib should stand aside while investigations run their course

The US Justice Department’s decision to seize more than $1bn in assets allegedly stolen from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund has sent shockwaves through the Southeast Asian nation. Until the US announcement last month, most Malaysians were resigned to creeping authoritarianism in their country as the prime minister, Najib Razak, concentrated power in his hands and eviscerated the last vestiges of independent governance.

Mr Najib has in effect removed anyone — from the deputy prime minister to the attorney-general — who questioned his role in the alleged theft of billions of dollars from 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the sovereign wealth fund he established in 2009.

Mr Najib’s party, United Malays National Organisation (Umno), has ruled the country without interruption for six decades with a mix of cash handouts and suppression of political opponents. But the alleged involvement of Mr Najib, his family and associates with the 1MDB scandal goes beyond the usual levels of corruption in Malaysia. Now the Obama administration has sent an implicit signal that Mr Najib no longer enjoys the unquestioning protection and support of the US.

Since independence in 1957, Malaysia has hardly been a paragon of democracy. But it has always been a staunch western ally and an example of moderate Islam in a world of increasing radicalisation. Thanks to Mr Najib, those assumptions are now in doubt.

In Washington, Malaysia gets little airtime. If the topic crossed Barack Obama’s desk at all it was usually in the context of Mr Najib’s strong support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal or his role as a moderate Muslim bulwark against extremism in Southeast Asia. On Christmas Eve, 2014, the two leaders played a round of golf in Hawaii, something Mr Najib has touted ever since as evidence of his American backing.

He has also cleverly courted China in what analysts say is a warning to Washington that he could move Malaysia into Beijing’s sphere of influence if US support wavers.

In recent weeks, Mr Najib’s government has cynically highlighted the threat of terrorism in his country with hundreds of arrests of alleged terror suspects. Then on Monday the country introduced a new security law that gives Mr Najib sweeping powers to declare a state of emergency in a move human rights groups and UN officials said would allow him to act with impunity and trample human rights.

The Obama administration must not bow to Mr Najib’s attempts to bounce Washington into continued support. Islamist radicalisation is likely to be exacerbated by the current drift towards authoritarianism and the climate of impunity fostered by the prime minister as he clings to power.

TPP is, sadly, no longer a US priority and is opposed by both major presidential candidates. A Malaysian alliance with China is very unlikely, particularly given Umno’s patchy record when it comes to relations with its own large Chinese minority.

As he nears the end of his tenure in the White House, Mr Obama should encourage all US agencies to pursue the 1MDB case to the full extent of American and international law. That applies not only to potential charges against Mr Najib and his associates, but also those involving banks and companies that have abetted the alleged laundering of more than $3.5bn stripped from 1MDB.

Finally, for the sake of the people and the country he professes to serve, Mr Najib should step aside until investigations have run their course or he has cleared his name.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 3 August 2016, 2:08 pm and is filed under
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Malaysia’s Najib Razak, Beset by Growing Scandal, Demands Respect

By SARA SCHONHARDT in Jakarta and YANTOULTRA NGUI in Kuala Lumpur

Wall Street Journal

Aug. 2, 2016

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, facing a loss of international standing as he wrestles with global investigations into alleged domestic corruption, on Tuesday urged countries not to meddle in the affairs of his Southeast Asian nation.

“I have always been a proponent of openness to the world and collaboration, but we must insist on respect for our own sovereignty, our own laws, and our own democratically elected governments,” Mr. Najib said at the opening of a summit on Islamic finance held in neighboring Indonesia.

Mr. Najib has struggled for more than a year in a scandal centered on the state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd. He used a keynote address to the World Islamic Economic Forum to restate his country’s importance in Asian trade and security arrangements and as a counterbalance to Islamic extremism.

The remarks amounted to a pointed statement of Malaysia’s traditional role as an investment-friendly, moderate Muslim mainstay. That role has been overshadowed in the past year by a steady stream of bad news around 1MDB, which Mr. Najib founded in 2009 to promote economic growth.

The three-day forum is the first big international event Mr. Najib has attended since the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit July 20 seeking to seize assets that it said were bought with $3.5 billion misappropriated from 1MDB.

The lawsuit doesn’t name Mr. Najib, but there are 32 references to “Malaysian Official 1,” who allegedly received hundreds of millions of dollars in funds siphoned from 1MDB. People close to the investigation have said Malaysian official 1 is Mr. Najib.

“Without a doubt, the ongoing 1MDB investigation by half a dozen countries, including the U.S. and Singapore, is starting to take its toll on Najib’s credibility,” said  Murray Hiebert, deputy director of the southeast Asia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

“But much of this toll is focused on Najib,” Mr. Hiebert said. “Malaysia itself is still largely viewed as one of the most economically successful Muslim majority countries.”

Mr. Hiebert was jailed briefly in the late 1990s for contempt of court after losing an appeal against a 1997 conviction for writing about a case brought by the wife of a court of appeal’s judge on behalf of her teenage son. Mr. Hiebert was working at the time as a journalist for the Far Eastern Economic Review, then owned by Dow Jones. Mr. Najib wasn’t the prime minister at the time.

On the international stage, Malaysia remains an important member of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement the U.S. is pushing, and an increasingly important security partner for Washington amid tensions in the South China Sea, Mr. Hiebert said.

“Najib is still the prime minister and therefore he still must be given all the courtesies for a sitting head of government,’’ said Wan Saiful Wan Jan, chief executive of Kuala Lumpur-based think tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs. “So in reality, it does not matter what people think. He is still in charge.”

Mr. Najib has been embroiled in scandal since The Wall Street Journal reported more than a year ago that hundreds of millions of dollars that originated with 1MDB flowed into his personal bank account. Several countries have since launched investigations.

Mr. Najib has said he did nothing wrong and is the target of political smears. The Malaysian attorney general has cleared him of wrongdoing, saying the funds that went into Mr. Najib’s account were a legal political donation from Saudi Arabia and that most of the money was returned. 1MDB has also denied wrongdoing.

Mr. Najib is still regarded as a moderate voice in the Muslim world and Malaysia sees itself as a model for developing countries, said Norshahril Saat, a fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. His approach to terrorism has also earned him kudos among neighbors battling with Islamic extremism while earning rebuke from human-rights groups.

A special security law that took effect Monday widens Mr. Najib’s powers to fight Islamic terrorism but critics say it is broad and overly vague and could be used to silence critics. New York-based Human Rights Watch called for the law to be repealed.

Countries facing similar problems, including corruption, are less likely to pass judgment. But the allegations themselves continue to dog Mr. Najib and perceptions of Malaysia.

“I think Malaysia is suffering in terms of international reputation,” said Wan Saiful Wan Jan. “Everywhere I go these days the question I have to answer is always about Najib and the allegations surrounding him. It is quite embarrassing and it is a distraction to the many good things we can talk about the country.”

The forum was founded in Malaysia in 2005, bringing together business leaders and government officials in the Islamic world to promote trade and investment opportunities. Malaysia is a global leader in the Islamic finance market and has more than tripled Islamic capital markets to $1.7 trillion over the past decade, Mr. Najib said.

An Islamic finance market is based on Islamic law. For instance, the system avoids investment in prohibited industries such as gambling and alcohol.

—Celine Fernandez contributed to this article.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 3 August 2016, 12:53 pm and is filed under
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Dangers of passing a law to impose hudud

Koon Yew Yin

Malaysiakini

04.8.2016

COMMENT
 In two months from now, Parliament will be sitting again. What is at stake for the nation is nothing less than our way of life and our Malaysian dream.

This is because a Private Member’s Bill to amend the Syariah Court (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 will be tabled and debated at that sitting.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has been going around to claim that this bill is only to upgrade the Syariah Courts and that it has nothing to do with non-Muslims.

PAS-oriented analysts and ulama leaders have also commented that it is not really a “Hudud Bill” and that it’s passage is only intended to pave the way for PAS to enforce its version of the Islamic penal code in Kelantan. Hence they argue that its effect will be limited.

However, Hadi and his supporters are only trying to fool the public.

Here are my reasons for why all Malaysians – Muslims and non-Muslims – should oppose the bill, which unexpectedly was allowed by Umno to “potong jalan” or jump the queue during the last parliamentary sitting.

Negative impact of Hudud Bill Enactment

Here is a summary of its negative impact:

Firstly, the passage of the bill is against the Federal Constitution, the country’s supreme law, which calls for equality before the law.

The proposed bill will destroy this key provision by allowing more criminal offences seen to be against the “precepts of Islam” to be dealt by the syariah court and result in two sets of criminal laws for Muslims – the syariah and the civil law system; as well as two sets of laws for Muslims and non-Muslims.

Secondly, the passing of this bill could pave the way towards further constitutional amendments that could result in the syariah court superseding the civil court and for the full imposition of hudud, which includes limb amputation for thieves and flogging in public for adulterers, according to Kelantan Deputy Mentri Besar Mohd Amar Abdullah.

Thirdly, if non-Muslims think they will not be affected by the proposed bill, they are sadly mistaken.

Already some prominent ulama, such as Perlis mufti Asri Zainal Abidin, have gone on public record to say that non-Muslims should not be exempted from hudud. We have seen unilateral conversions of children from divorces and body snatching by Islamic religious departments.

As pointed out by the columnist, Farouk Peru, in his article, ‘Hudud: Non-Muslims Beware’: “What would happen when a Muslim is convicted for stealing and his non-Muslim partner is caught alongside him? Will he stand by and lose his limb while his partner, with great relief, goes to jail? Highly unlikely.”

To me, this is more than just the camel in the tent scenario. There is good reason to believe that the passing of this bill will embolden the radical Muslim lobby to push for more. It will not stop with the present bill.

If passed, it will take us down a dangerous road and ultimately push us over a precipice. Even liberal Muslims, such as Farouk Peru and others, are saying this. Hudud belongs to the Middle Ages, not to modern society.

The bill is clearly an attempt by PAS at playing Islamic politics. Taking advantage of the Islamic religious resurgence in Malaysia, it is aimed at reinforcing the position of PAS in Kelantan and Terengganu, as well as pushing Umno, which is at present in a crisis due to the 1MDB and personal donation to the prime minister twin scandalsm to support hudud so as to retain Malay Muslim support.

But what will happen immediately next, when the bill is passed, is what we should be worried about.

Expect economic disaster if Hudud Bill is passed

The most important reason for Malaysians to oppose the bill is the severe impact on our economic development, and on our economy and society.

It is a factor that has been given relatively little prominence by local analysts and the media.

However, in my opinion, this factor should be deliberated upon and emphasised in the coming parliamentary debate.

Why I say this is because I have recently been approached by a columnist from a prominent foreign based newspaper for my views on the coming bill.

It is clear from this approach made to me that the international community, especially the business community, although we may not be aware of it, is closely watching what will happen after the bill is enacted

Potential ‘Taliban’ nation

If the bill passes through, I predict that the first impact will be in the economic sector and the business community. Both local and foreign investors will reassess their commitment to Malaysia. We can expect many investors to pull out and relocate to the other Asean countries or elsewhere.

Once we are internationally branded or labelled as a potential “Taliban” nation, the ringgit will drop further; foreign investment will dry up; foreign tourist arrivals will be sharply reduced; the stock market will take a big hit and that will be the end of our ambition to join the ranks of developed nations.

Let me warn PAS and Umno parliamentarians

Don’t try to fool the nation that this is simply a minor change in the country’s legal system for Muslims.

The ripple effects and consequences on our economy – which is already not doing well – will be incalculable.

KOON YEW YIN, a retired chartered engineer, is a philanthropist.

Read more: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/351112#ixzz4GNFo7aDm

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 4 August 2016, 10:35 pm and is filed under
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How to fill RM28 billion hole at 1MDB?

P Gunasegaram

Malaysiakini

2 Aug 2016

QUESTION TIME
 Desperate people are dangerous people – not just to themselves but to all of those around them. The more powerful you are when you are desperate and the more influence you have, the more dangerous you are to more and more people. What dangerous, despicable things will desperate people do to fill up that RM28 billion hole at 1MDB?

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) civil filings to recover over US$1 billion in assets purportedly belonging to our disgraced “strategic development company” 1Malaysia Development Berhad or 1MDB very comprehensively explained how over US$3.5 billion (US$3.657 billion to be exact or RM14.6 billion at current exchange rates) was allegedly stolen from the country.

The DOJ filings painstakingly detailed the money trail for the over US$3.5 billion purportedly stolen from 1MDB, which is wholly owned by the Minister of Finance Inc, an arm of the Finance Ministry, showing that a total of US$730 million went into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s bank accounts, of which US$620 million were returned to one of the accounts from where it came.

According to the filings, most of the money went to accounts controlled by Low Taek Jho aka Jho Low, while the other portions went to two senior officials – since dismissed – of Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Corp or IPIC and its subsidiary Aabar PJS Investments (their CEOs in fact), and Riza Aziz, the PM’s stepson (Rosmah Mansor’s son).

Some three quarters, amounting to US$2.627 billion or RM10.5 billion of the embezzled 1MDB funds went into the accounts of Jho Low, from which portions were subsequently distributed into other accounts. Over and above this, US$238 million or over RM950 million went to Riza Aziz while nearly US$540 million or some RM2.16 billion went to the accounts of the two senior officials at IPIC and Aabar.

The DOJ filings add on to other reports, including one from our very own auditor-general. News reports quoting the auditor-general’s report on 1MDB say that some US$7 billion (RM28 billion) worth of 1MDB assets could not be verified and accounted for.

That means that between US$3.5 billion and US$7 billion of 1MDB money could have gone missing – a further US$3.5 billion over and above what the US DOJ says could still be missing and misappropriated or stolen. The gaping hole in 1MDB could be as large as RM28 billion but is at least RM14 billion deep. The auditor-general’s report has been classified under the Official Secrets Ac,t which means that there is much information there which the government is suppressing from public view.

1MDB itself admitted that over US$3.5 billion it purportedly paid Aabar has gone missing. Neither IPIC nor Aabar acknowledge the payments. Apparently, 1MDB paid into the account of a British Virgin Islands company with a similar name! And still 1MDB claims that all is well and no police report has been lodged.

IPIC is now claiming from 1MDB not US$3.5 billion but US$6.5 billion under arbitration proceedings filed in London – that’s US$3 billion more than the payment gone missing of US$3.5 billion. It’s not clear why but if the arbitration goes against 1MDB, Malaysia has to pay out US$6.5 billion.

Inflating cost of rail project?

Whichever way one looks at it, there’s going to be a huge hole in 1MDB – US$3.5 billion at least and as high as US$7 billion. 1MDB will be desperately trying to cover that hole but how is it going to do that?

Remember that 1MDB is wholly owned by MOF Inc, remember that its former board, as well as the advisory board which the PM headed, has been disbanded and control is now with MOF Inc. The burden falls on MOF Inc to fill up this hole with minimal damage in terms of public perception – yet another cover-up, in other words.

This raises serious questions as to what 1MDB, its new board and shareholders will do to either fill the hole in a manner which is acceptable or can be passed off as acceptable to the public at large, or continue to deny foolishly that such a hole exists. The former is tough or even impossible to do and the latter cannot be done indefinitely.

It’s been more than a year – 16 months – since 1MDB’s financial year-end of March 31, 2015 and there are no signs of the accounts. In another two months, it will pass the limit of six months given to file the accounts for the year ended March 31, 2016 as well. How long can 1MDB delay the accounts and still say things are A-OK? Already its auditors for its last accounts released (2013 and 2014), Deloitte, has said no one should rely on them anymore.

Speculation is mounting as to how Najib and his government will placate an increasingly sceptical and impatient public who are getting highly upset and restless by irrefutable reports of corruption at the highest levels. If nothing is done, the game will be up.

Sarawak Report – one of the organisations that helped blow open the 1MDB misappropriations when it reported leaked e-mails – is saying that the East Coast Railway project may be used for this purpose, claiming it has seen documents to this effect.

Basically, Sarawak Report alleges that the project, originally expected to cost around RM30 billion, will be awarded to a China company at an inflated price of RM60 billion, the differential of RM30 billion being transferred back eventually to 1MDB to fill the hole. Works Minister Fadillah Yusuf has denied this.

Denial or not, the point is, how is 1MDB going to fill that hole? What will MOF Inc come up with? And if it can’t fill the hole, who will be hauled up? Who will be blamed for all this?

Desperate things will be done during desperate times by desperate people so we have to keep our ears to the ground and eyes wide open.

Remember that there is the High Speed Rail project too which, by the time it is done, could cost as much as RM80 billion, giving room for lots of fiddling. And remember too that China companies are highly likely to be involved here as well.

It is dangerous for desperate people to be in charge of a country during desperate times for they can throw much more good money into a sinkhole so that they look good for as long as they can; they can wound a nation sometimes mortally, and hurt and maim its people just so that they remain in power and thereby avoid being brought to account for their actions and ill-gotten gains.

This highlights yet again the need for change at the very top in Malaysia and extends to charging all those who conspired and were responsible for the largest theft in the world and the bringing to account of everyone who helped to suppress information, did not do their jobs and allowed criminals to roam free.

P GUNASEGARAM is absolutely amazed and astounded by the audacity and ultimate stupidity of those who conspired in this heist against 1MDB. How could they think that they could forever hide the billions stolen and launder such large sums through the world’s financial markets without eventually being found out?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 4 August 2016, 10:48 pm and is filed under
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Lamenting 1MDB

Meredith L. Weiss

New Mandala

04 AUG, 2016

The damage from Malaysia’s latest financial scandal runs deep. Here’s how it will impact politics in the long-term.

The beans have been counted, the (foreign) prosecutors have stripped off their gloves, and the convoluted flowcharts have been pasted across the blogosphere.

1 Malaysia Development Berhad, better known as 1MDB, has once again lifted Malaysia to the world’s front pages—as usual, for all the wrong reasons. The saga and spectacle are both terribly disappointing and terribly predictable, after decades of eroding checks and balances.

The sheer scale of malfeasance is daunting. The recent United States Department of Justice (DoJ) indictment was detailed and damning, the “Malaysian Official 1” euphemism notwithstanding. Yet 1MDB is the tip of the iceberg. Even if some losses are recouped and/or some political heads roll, the collateral damage runs far deeper and will be much harder to fix. Four aspects in particular bear attention, as we consider the longer-term political implications of 1MDB.

First, the unfolding facts reveal serious political-economic pathologies. While developmental statehood is not what it once was (or at least, aspired to be), a key legacy is the substantial role of the state in development, particularly via government-linked corporations, sovereign wealth funds like 1MDB, and similar vehicles. For such institutions to function effectively and in the public interest requires consistent, convincing probity. Beyond siphoning away funds, public sector mismanagement and opacity signal more systemic institutional weakness and corrode popular confidence in government decision-making locally, and in Malaysia as a reliable partner globally.

Second, Malaysia’s homegrown media have been sufficiently battered that it has been up to a London-based muckraking website, Sarawak Report, and the US-based Wall Street Journal to do the heavy lifting in investigative journalism. When Malaysian-based media stepped in—most notably, from the Edge Media Group—the state lashed out punitively, though without deterring independent media from continuing their coverage. We might consider this pattern as a novel form of ‘boomerang journalism’ (adapting Keck and Sikkink’s notion of boomerang activism), in which ‘contentious journalists’ outside Malaysia amplify the efforts of those inside (much as anti-corruption initiatives overseas compensate for the lassitude of domestic ones).

But that balance is unfortunate, and speaks poorly to the availability of information essential to any functioning democracy. Revivifying Malaysian mainstream media will require training new cohorts of personnel (in part, to replace those who have resigned in frustration with the constraints under which they work), regenerating a culture of journalistic integrity and vigilance, and cultivating confidence among editors and publishers. Online media play a role, but print, television, and radio are at least as important.

Third, that a financial scandal has been reframed as an ethnic contest—Malay–Muslims versus Chinese—is hardly intuitive, but likewise hardly surprising in Malaysia. Prime Minister Najib and his allies have fought accumulating allegations not by proving them wrong, but by an aggressive game of ‘wag the dog’: forget corruption; Malays have to stick together to secure hudud.

That tactic seems to be working. By all accounts, the Malay-Muslim ‘heartland’ in particular seems willing to give Najib a pass. Even if a substantial proportion rely largely on filtered mainstream news, chances are slim that many remain entirely unaware of the ongoing revelations. Rather, a combination of targeted patronage, Najib and his party’s position as communal saviour, and the abstract distance of a financial scandal render the proffered frame of Islam-under-attack effective. The resultant ethno-religious polarisation could take decades to redress, or could do permanent damage to the framework of Malaysian civic life.

The unfolding scandal has not gone unchallenged, nor are all the critics from the opposition side—although those within Najib’s United Malays National Party (UMNO), and not yet given the boot, must be particularly flummoxed.

Fourth and finally, the overall failure to translate aggravation into action indicates problematic ossification within UMNO, the opposition, and civil society alike. That ex-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has been reconditioned in his 90s as a reformist hero is startling, and speaks poorly for the availability of younger, newer, less baggage-laden opposition alternatives. That the ‘progressive’-wing civil societal response to the DoJ’s kleptocracy charges is a fifth Bersih leaves one to wonder why this iteration of mass protests should be the charm. (Meanwhile, the right-wing plans yet another Malay-rights rally, reflecting and amplifying the communal bogey.)

Meanwhile, Najib’s government has struck back at detractors, further degrading already-battered freedoms of speech and association and complicating civil societal activism, including with a newly-enacted National Security Act. Should these laws eventually be loosened or lifted, as for the press, it will take the average citizen and voter some time to shake off the sense that speaking out is risky or inappropriate. The longer that process takes, the thinner and more tattered the fabric of social capital will become.

As a parliamentary democracy, at least in form, Malaysia should be able to put the matter to the test, through a vote of confidence in parliament. However, not only does UMNO set the parliamentary agenda, but UMNO’s many branches and their leaders face a collective action problem in coordinating against a party president, the prime minister, who controls campaign-funds and patronage purse-strings.

Meanwhile, the red cape of political Islamisation distracts the opposition as much as it does UMNO’s own mass base, leaving the opposition coalition in disarray when it most needs coordinated resolve and common purpose. The 1MDB debacle has revealed the paucity of political imagination and the frailty of participatory machinery and channels in today’s Malaysia.

At this point, enough countries are investigating 1MDB and its and Malaysia’s leaders that surely (surely?) something has to give. But the sad reality is, at this point, a court case, a criminal conviction, even a full overhaul of political leadership would not fix the problem. 1MDB has both laid bare and made worse deep weaknesses and ruptures in Malaysia’s politics, economy, and society.

As a quasi-neutral observer, my only hope is that we have hit rock-bottom—that the hat-tricks and hate-mongering will no longer work their magic; that the ranks of UMNO leaders will decide it’s worth the risk of a serious probe and full follow-up; that smart minds on both sides of the aisle will be able to revitalise political institutions; that civil society will find new ideas and fresh voices and stores of cleavage-bridging social capital.

At this point, though, optimism is about as hard to find as answers.

Meredith Weiss is Professor of Political Science at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 4 August 2016, 3:38 pm and is filed under
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No Break for Worst Asian Currency as Clouds Gather Over Malaysia

Y-Sing Liau

Bloomberg

August 4, 2016

The bad news just doesn’t stop for Asia’s worst-performing currency.

Already reeling from a renewed slump in oil prices and a political scandal that just won’t go away, the Malaysian ringgit is now facing the prospect of another cut in interest rates. It’s the region’s biggest loser in the past month and analysts still see scope for it to drop more than 2 percent by year-end.

The currency’s slide highlights all is not well as the nation’s economy heads for its worst performance this decade. Crude oil’s plunge to a four-month low this week undermines the finances of net oil exporter Malaysia, while the appeal of its relatively high bond yields is being tempered by the scandals surrounding a troubled state investment fund. Rabobank Group and UBS Group AG both predict Bank Negara Malaysia will add to its first rate cut in seven years in coming months.

Another rate reduction “will be a further negative for the currency because one of the things that’s attractive about it is it’s got a relatively high yield,” said Michael Every, head of financial markets research at Rabobank in Hong Kong. “They’ve been extremely stable on the interest-rate front up until the last cut. If we get another one, it will get the market thinking: ‘What do they know that we don’t?’”

July’s easing was a “pre-emptive move” and there are no current plans to adjust rates again over the next few meetings, although policy makers will look at data to see what is needed, central bank Governor Muhammad Ibrahim told the official Bernama news agency in an interview published July 14. Malaysia is able to absorb external shocks should the global economy deteriorate, Muhammad told Bernama.

Brent crude’s 13 percent slump this quarter is exacerbating Malaysia’s woes. Sliding energy prices have eroded export earnings and rising costs are curbing business investment. Economic growth slowed to the least in more than six years in the first quarter, and analysts project it will ease to 4.2 percent for the year as a whole, the least since 2009.

The outlook for the currency is linked to oil prices as Malaysia derives 20 percent of its revenue from energy-related sources. The nation loses 450 million ringgit in annual income for every $1 decline in oil, the prime minister said in April.

Lagging Behind

The ringgit has dropped 1.3 percent in the past month, underperforming its regional peers which all recorded gains except for the Philippine peso and Indonesia’s rupiah. The currency traded at 4.051 per dollar as of 7:56 a.m. in London on Thursday. It was as strong as 3.142 in August 2014, when oil was still above $100 a barrel.

The ringgit will weaken to 4.10 per dollar by the end of September and 4.15 by year-end, according to the median estimates of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Rabobank is more bearish, predicting 4.15 by Sept. 30 and 4.30 by the end of December, Every said.

Bank Negara unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to 3 percent on July 13 to bolster growth, and analysts say pressure is building for another move.

UBS projects the central bank will make another quarter-point rate cut by early next year and the ringgit will weaken to 4.40 per dollar by the end of December in anticipation. Three-year bonds yield five basis points less than the central bank rate, signaling investors see a chance for further easing.

‘Common Problem’

“Malaysian export growth continues to be weak, a common problem among emerging-market economies, and the current-account surplus is expected to narrow further, which could put pressure on the currency when portfolio inflows slow,” said Maximillian Lin, a currency strategist at UBS in Singapore.

Sentiment toward the economy has soured as global probes into 1Malaysia Development Bhd. gathered pace, raising the stakes in a scandal which has dogged Prime Minister Najib Razak for more than a year.

1MDB is at the center of a controversy involving accusations of embezzlement and money laundering. It defaulted on a $1.75 billion bond in April amid a dispute with the co-guarantor as to who was liable for the payment.

U.S. prosecutors said on July 20 they’re looking to recover more than $1 billion in assets they contend were siphoned from 1MDB, whose advisory board Najib chaired until recently. The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced a day later it had seized S$240 million ($179 million) in assets from individuals linked to alleged fraud at the fund. Najib and 1MDB have both denied wrongdoing.

‘Fairly Benign’

Not everyone is bearish.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. predicts the ringgit will stay between 3.90 and 4.10 per dollar in the second half as Malaysia’s relatively high bond yields attract investors. That scenario would only be threatened if the Federal Reserve were to raise interest rates at the same time as Bank Negara cuts them, its foreign-exchange analysts say.

“If the Fed outlook was fairly benign it’s not likely that another rate cut would hurt ringgit sentiment all that much,” said Jonathan Cavenagh, head of Asia emerging-market currency strategy at JPMorgan Chase in Singapore. “Outright yields are still quite high, particularly compared to the major developed markets. Hence we would expect limited downside in the ringgit.”

While Malaysian bonds offer the second-highest interest payments in Southeast Asia after Indonesia’s, they are losing their allure. The yield on the benchmark 10-year security dropped to 3.62 percent on Thursday, from as high as 4.45 percent in August 2015.

“High foreign participation in the local currency bond market — we estimate 34 percent of outstanding Malaysian government securities are owned by foreigners — makes the ringgit very sensitive to the Fed outlook and to domestic political developments,” UBS’s Lin said.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 4 August 2016, 7:13 pm and is filed under
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Why no White Paper or Government Statement in past fortnight to clear Malaysia’s name and reputation from being named a kleptocracy in US DOJ’s legal suits to forfeit over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in US?

The past two weeks had been Malaysia’s most dark and  shameful fortnight as  three infamous things happened to Malaysia during this period:

•	On 20th July, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its largest single action to forfeit over US$1 billion of assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland  (making it also the world’s largest single action of forfeiture) embezzled, defrauded, misappropriated or money-laundered from 1MDB, the Malaysian national sovereign wealth fund.

•	Overnight, Malaysia became notorious worldwide as a kleptocracy with the DOJ civil action under the US Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative (KARI) 2010  for forfeiture of over US$1billion 1MDB-linked assets out of US$3.5 billion embezzled, defrauded, misappropriated or money-laundered  from 1MDB which compelled  1MDB auditors,  Deloitte Malaysia to disavow the reliability of   its audit of 1MDB in 2013 and 2014 on the ground that they  would have been impacted if it had known at that time the information contained in the DOJ lawsuits.  “Kleptocracy” literally means ‘rule by thieves’.

•	The inability of the Malaysian Government to issue a White Paper or a Statement in the past fortnight to clear Malaysia’s name and reputation from being named as a kleptocracy and ranked as one of the world’s top countries afflicted with global corruption.

All that the Malaysian Government has been able to do in response to the unprecedented DOJ suit under KARI is to adopt a “wait-and-see” attitude and basically ignore the US DOJ action, as highlighted by Najib’s initial response that it was “not wise to make assumptions until the (US legal) process is completed” (which the Attorney-General’s Chambers expect to take “years” in its Q&A on the DOJ suit on its website)  and the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Apandi Ali’s initial comment that “there is currently no evidence that money had been misappropriated from 1MDB” (despite the weight of evidence in the 136-page DOJ complaint).

An Umno supreme council member said yesterday that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”, which was mentioned 36 times in the US DOJ complaint, was not discussed by the UMNO Supreme Council because “nobody knew who ‘MO1’ was.

Presumably, this was also  the reason why the Cabinet, which had met twice since the DOJ filing, had not discussed “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” because “nobody knew who ‘MO1’ was”.

This has become the greatest mystery in Malaysian public life today for every Malaysian who regards himself or herself as belonging to  “the informed Malaysian public” would know the identity of “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”!

Serious questions have therefore been raised whether we have the right people in the Malaysian Cabinet and the UMNO Supreme Council.

With the information and resources at its command, it should not be difficult for the government to come out with a White Paper or a Government Statement to debunk the 136-page DOJ filing relating to 1MDB, and in the process clear Malaysia’s name and reputation not only as a new member of the  Club of Kleptocracy but having become a top kleptocracy in the world.

Can Najib explain why it has not been possible to issue a White Paper or Government Statement in past fortnight to clear Malaysia’s name and reputation from being named a kleptocracy in US DOJ’s legal suits to forfeit over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in US, or whether such a statement is being prepared and in the making?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 4 August 2016, 3:06 pm and is filed under
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Can IGP throw light on the “Mexican standoff” referred to  by UMNO Youth deputy chief and whether the IGP or the police were in anyway involved in such a “Mexican standoff”?

It was all completed in  shot-gun speed:

•	the police report by UMNO Youth vice-chief Khairul Azwan Harun on Tuesday, 26th July against three Tan Sris, former Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail, former Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar and the former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed for top-level conspiracy to topple the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak;

•	the police recording of Khairul’s statement on Friday, 29th July;

•	and the announcement by the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar that the police will not investigate Khairul’s statement alleging a high-level conspiracy by the three Tan Sris to topple the Prime Minister as Khairul’s report was based on assumptions without any proof to substantiate his allegations and therefore did not warrant further investigations.

All well and good, which bespeak of a highly competent and efficient police force, except for two tails left behind by the shot-gun disposal of one of the most serious police reports lodged in the nation’s history – a high-level conspiracy to topple the sitting Prime Minister.

These two tails were:

Firstly, the IGP’s announcement that  Khairul would not be investigated for lodging a false report. Imagine what would have happened if a Pakatan Harapan leader or civil society activist had lodged a police report against high officials for a conspiracy to topple Prime Minister based on assumptions without any iota of supporting evidence?

Secondly, Khairul standing by his police report after the IGP’s statement and insisting that he has “evidence” to back up his police report of a high-level conspiracy against the three Tan Sris to topple the Prime Minister.

Khairul said his report has led to a “Mexican standoff” or a deadlock describing a confrontation between two or more parties in which none of the opponents has the advantage to proceed without being exposed to danger.

Can IGP throw light on the “Mexican standoff” referred to  by the UMNO Youth deputy chief and whether the IGP or the police were in anyway involved in such a “Mexican standoff”?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 5 August 2016, 4:31 pm and is filed under
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New York regulator queries Goldman again on Malaysia’s 1MDB fund: source

BY SUZANNE BARLYN

Reuters

Aug  4, 2016

New York state’s financial regulator has sent a second request to Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) for information about its fundraising for Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, a person familiar with the matter said.

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), in a letter sent late on Thursday, also requested a meeting with Goldman on or before Aug. 31, the person said. The request follows a letter the regulator sent to Goldman last month seeking details on the matter.

The source was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

“We are aware of their interest in this matter and have been in dialogue with them on it for some time,” a Goldman Sachs spokesman said.

The Wall Street bank’s work with 1MDB is under the spotlight after the U.S. government alleged that billions of dollars earmarked for investments were diverted for the personal use of 1MDB officials, their relatives and associates.

Goldman Sachs helped 1MDB, which was founded by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in September 2009, raise $6.5 billion in three bond sales in 2012 and 2013 to invest in energy projects and real estate to boost the Malaysian economy.

Instead, more than $2.5 billion raised from those bonds was misappropriated and used to buy artwork, including paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet, luxury properties in New York and London and to pay off gambling debts in Las Vegas, according to U.S. Department of Justice civil lawsuits filed in court on July 20.

Goldman Sachs, which earned close to $600 million to arrange and underwrite the 1MDB bonds, was not accused of any wrongdoing in the lawsuits. But they allege investors were not properly informed about the use and nature of the bonds.

NYDFS considers the meeting it is requesting a type of “supplemental special report,” the person familiar with the matter said. Details the regulator wants to discuss at the meeting include the timing of disclosures to NYDFS concerning Goldman’s involvement with bond transactions involving the Malaysian fund.

The regulator also wants details about Goldman’s due diligence in connection with transmitting the sale proceeds from the three bond offerings.

Singapore’s central bank said last week that it was also examining the extent of involvement by Goldman Sachs’ local unit in bond deals for 1MDB.

(Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Tom Brown)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 5 August 2016, 5:25 pm and is filed under
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Ironically, it is Khairy who has refuted Najib’s statement on Indonesian TV that the US DOJ lawsuit does not involve him, the Malaysian government or 1MDB directly

Ironically, it is the UMNO Youth Chief and Youth Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin who has refuted the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s statement on Indonesian television yesterday that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit does not involve him, the Malaysian government or 1MDB directly.

Khairy Jamaluddin told the Sepang Puteri and UMNO Youth annual assembly last night  that the US DOJ’s  accusatory tone in its lawsuit made it as though the Malaysian Government was a guilty party in their forfeiture suit for over US$1billion 1MDB-linked assets.

He said the US press conference on July 20  on troubled state investment fund 1MDB was to present the findings of their year-long investigations, but the language used were as though Putrajaya had already been convicted.

“The way they announced (their findings) is as though it was a conviction, as though (those named) are already guilty and to be punished.

“The words used showed as though Malaysia and the government are guilty,” Khairy said at the Sepang Puteri and Umno Youth annual assembly last night.

He said this went against the concept of “innocent until proven guilty”.

Isn’t this precisely the reason why inaction by the Prime Minister and the Malaysian government for the past 17 days is untenable and not an option, especially as Malaysian Prime Minister and the nation’s reputation and good name had never been so besmirched and tarnished as by the  DOJ’s largest single forfeiture action, making it the largest in the world, as a result of embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption of Malaysia’s national sovereign wealth fund and the country being named overnight as a global kleptocracy?

Unless the Prime Minister is going to deny that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”, mentioned 36 times in the DOJ complaint, does not refer to him, and that Malaysia’s reputation and good name have not been besmirched or stained by the DOJ action, how can Najib tell Indonesian television that the US DOJ lawful “does not involve him, the Malaysian government or 1MDB directly”.

The whole DOJ suit, laid out in the 136-page complaint, is about 1MDB.

Paragraph 6 of the DOJ complaint states:

“1MDB was ostensibly created to pursue investment and development projects for the economic benefit of Malaysia and its people, primarily relying on the issuance of various debt securities to fund these projects.

 “However, over the course of an approximately four-year period, between approximately 2009 and at least 2013, multiple individuals, including public officials and their associates, conspired to 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 U.S. financial institutions.

“The funds diverted from 1MDB 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 $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.”

Paragraph 7 said the “criminal conduct” alleged in the complaint occurred in three phases, and Paragraphs 8 – 11 went on to specify these three phases: (i) The “Good Star” phase, from September 2009 to 2011, involving the “fraudulent diversion” of more than US$1 billion from 1MDB to Good Star; (ii) the “Aabar-BVI” phase in 2012 involving the misappropriation and fraudulent diversion of US$1.367 billion; and (iii) the “Tanore” phase in  2013 involving the diversion of more than US$1.26 billion of 1MDB funds.

Paragraph 12 states: “The proceeds of each of these three phases of criminal conduct were laundered through a complex series of transactions, including through banks accounts in Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the United States.”

At the end of the 136-page DOJ lawsuit, there is a sworn “verification” by the Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Robert B. Heuchling “under penalty of perjury” that “I have read the foregoing Verified Complaint for Forfeiture In Rem and know the contents thereof, and that the matters contained in the Verified Complaint are true to the best of my knowledge and belief” and “The sources of my knowledge and information and the grounds of my belief are official files and records of the United States, publicly available files and historical information, information supplied to me by other law enforcement officers, experts and other witnesses, as well as my investigation in this case, together with others, as a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigations”.

As Khairy acknowledged, the US DOJ lawsuit is the outcome of the year-long investigations of the various US authorities into US$3.5 billion embezzlement, money-laundering and corruption of 1MDB funds.

Various Malaysian authorities have also conducted investigations into the 1MDB scandal – the Auditor-General; the Public Accounts Committee (PAC); the Special Task Force on 1MDB comprising four Tan Sris, namely Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail (Attorney-General), Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar (Bank Negara Governor), Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner) and Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar (Inspector-General of Police) until it was dissolved after the sacking of Gani Patail as Attorney-General on July 28, 2015; the Police, the MACC, Bank Negara, etc.

With the numerous inquiries by the various Malaysian authorities and the  information and resources at its command, why is the Prime Minister and the Government unable to issue a White Paper or an official rebuttal to debunk the DOJ complaint about the litany of “criminal conduct”, and in the process clear Malaysia’s name and reputation as a top kleptocracy in the world?

Has the Public Accounts Committee met over the DOJ complaint and consider whether it should issue an updated or revised report on 1MDB to Parliament?

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 6 August 2016, 3:58 pm and is filed under
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Only an idiot doesn’t know that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is implicated in the “criminal conduct” of embezzlement, money-laundering and misappropriation  of 1MDB funds which formed the basis of the US DOJ lawsuits

My first reaction to the startling statement by the BN Strategic Communications Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of EPU, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan that only an idiot doesn’t know who “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is was to wonder  when the UMNO Supreme Council became an Idiots’ Council.

This is because an UMNO Supreme Council member, the MP for Kinabatangan Bung Moktar Radin had said on Wednesday that the UMNO Supreme Council meeting the previous Friday (July 29) did not discuss the “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” mentioned 36 times in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuits “because nobody knew who ‘MO1’ was”.

Bung told Malaysiakini: “DOJ did not name the person, so it is difficult to predict (who the person is).”

Abdul Rahman is a member of UMNO Supreme Council, which means he was an “idiot” by his own definition – at least up to July 29 when the UMNO Supreme Council met.

When did Abdul Rahman cease to be an idiot, and realise who is “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”?

May be what is more appropriate is to say that only an idiot does not know that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is implicated in the “criminal conduct” of embezzlement, money-laundering and misappropriation of 1MBD funds which formed the basis of the US DOJ lawsuits to forfeit over US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, and there is nothing to be proud of such  incriminating mention – 36 times in the DOJ lawsuit.

Abdul Rahman tried to show off his “cleverness” when he said that “There is no mystery about Malaysian Official 1, only an idiot doesn’t know who that person was”, adding that those who are familiar with the issues and read the court documents would know who is MO1.

In fact, he seems to be quite proud that although “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”  clearly referred to  the Prime Minister, Najib was not specifically  named.

Abdul Rahman said: “The most important question is why they put Malaysian official 1 (in the court papers instead of directly naming one)?

“Malaysiakini didn’t ask, they only asked who is MO1. Why is that they didn’t name him but name MO1…?

“The reason why the person wasn’t named (Prime Minister) Najib (Abdul Razak) is because he is not involved or part of the investigation.

 “This is actually an indication that Najib is not among the people being investigated.

“They used the nickname because Najib is not part of the investigation and this is a good thing.”

Abdul Rahman cannot be more wrong. At least, his colleague the UMNO Youth leader and Youth Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, was more frank when he admitted that the DOJ complaint was the outcome of year-long investigations by the DOJ and various US agencies and authorities, and that the Prime Minister would not be mentioned in code in a manner where only idiots could mistake as to his actual identity without solid grounds and evidence – especially as it involved the government leader of a “friendly” nation.

Even without the Prime Minister mentioned  in code in a manner “only an idiot doesn’t know who he is”, no self-respecting Prime Minister, government or nation would have allowed their reputation and good name to be smeared, besmirched or tarnished in the way the 136-page DOJ lawsuits have done to Malaysia involving multi-billion dollar embezzlement, money-laundering and misappropriation of the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, and what is worse, to be elevated to the stratosphere of global kleptocracy!

Abdul Rahman is right. Only an idiot doesn’t know who “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is or would not know that he is implicated in the “criminal conduct” of embezzlement, money-laundering and misappropriation of 1MBD funds, as set out in the following paragraphs of the  DOJ lawsuits:

 “259. Shortly after proceeds of the 2013 bond sale were diverted to the Tanore account, $681,000,000 was sent from the Tanore Account to a bank account belonging to MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1.

“260. On or about March 21, 2013, Tanore transferred $620,000,000 into an account at AmBank in Malaysia, whose beneficiary was listed as ‘AMPRIVATE BANKING-MR.’ On or about March 25, 2013, an additional $61,000,000 was wired from the Tanore Account to the same account at AmBank, for a total of $681,000,000.

“261. This account belonged to MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 and is the same account that in 2011 received $20 million from the PETROSAUDI CO-FOUNDER that was traceable to the Good Star Account, as set forth in Section II.G. It is also the same account that in 2012 received at least $30 million from the Blackstone Account that was traceable to the Aabar-BVI Swiss Account and the 2012 bond proceeds, as set forth in Section III.E.3.

“262. On or about August 26, 2013, $620,010,715 was wired from a different account at AmBank to the Tanore Account. This AmBank account also belonged to MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1, and the transfer represented funds from the $681 million payments that were being returned to Tanore.

“263. The Attorney-General of Malaysia publicly stated that he conducted an inquiry into the $681 million payments. In a press release issued on January 26, 2016, the Malaysian Attorney-General confirmed that, ‘the sum of USD681 million (RN2.08 billion) [was] transferred into the personal account of [MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1] between 22.03,2013 and 10.04.2013,’ and that, ‘in August 2013, a sum of USD620 million (RM2.03 billion) was returned by [MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1]…” The Malaysian Attorney-General ultimately characterized the payment of $681 million as a ‘personal donation’ to [MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1] from the Saudi royal family which was given to him without any consideration.”

In five paragraphs, the DOJ complaint contradicted and shot down Najib’s repeated assertions about the origins and purpose of hundreds of millions of dollars that ended up in his personal accounts.

How can the Malaysian Prime Minister and government stay silent in the past 18 days since the filing of the DOJ lawsuits which had so tarnished the reputation and good name of the Prime Minister, the government and the nation, involving Malaysia in the largest kleptocracy forfeiture action in the history of the United States and the world, and propelling Malaysia  to the  stratosphere of a global kleptocracy?

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 7 August 2016, 8:32 am and is filed under
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Has Malaysia a Cabinet of  idiots or kleptocrats?

Thanks to the Barisan Nasional  Strategic Communications Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of EPU, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, the question arising from the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s largest single action in the United States  and the world  for forfeiture of over US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in United States, United Kingdom and  Switzerland because of embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering is simply this:

Has Malaysia a Cabinet of idiots or kleptocrats?

Abdul Rahman said that there is no secret who is Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) mentioned in the US 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.

He said that there is “no mystery” about “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” as “only an idiot doesn’t know who that person was”.

Can we be sure that we do not have a Cabinet of Idiots, that at least by now, 19 days after the DOJ complaint,  every Cabinet Minister would have “read the court documents or familiar with the issues” and would know who is the person codenamed “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”  being referred to?

Can Malaysians expect the Malaysian Cabinet which is not composed of “idiots” to put the damning 136-page DOJ complaint as the  top agenda of the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday – the third Cabinet meeting after the DOJ action  on July 20 – especially as only an idiot does not know that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” is implicated in the “criminal conduct” of embezzlement, money-laundering and misappropriation of some US$3.5 billion 1MBD funds which formed the basis of the US DOJ lawsuits to forfeit over US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Although the DOJ lawsuit is a civil action, it is based on the  criminal conduct of an international money-laundering conspiracy to misappropriate 1MDB funds, as stated by Paragraph 5 of the DOJ action, which states:

“5. This is a civil action in rem to forfeit assets involved in and traceable to an international conspiracy to launder money misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (“1MDB”), a strategic investment and development company wholly-owned by the government of Malaysia. The United States seeks forfeiture of property located in the United States and abroad, including in the United Kingdom and Switzerland, pursuant to 18 U.S.C…..on the ground that it was derived from violations of U.S. law, and pursuant to 18 U.S.C…..on the ground that it is property involved in one or more money laundering offences in violation of 18 U.S.C……1956 and/of 1957.”

Abdul Rahman made a very revealing statement when he said that “everyone who has read the court documents or familiar with the issues” would know who is the “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”  being referred to, with the emphasis on the latter,  as the DOJ suit did not deal with the entire grand larceny of 1MDB funds with the 136-page DOJ lawsuits only dealing with how some  US$3.6 billion was stolen from 1MDB – the three Good Star, Aabar-BVI and Tanore phases – when the Swiss investigators in January this year had alluded to four phases, putting the total misappropriated sum at about US$4 billion to include the fourth SRC phase.

Anyone “familiar with the issues” would be aware of the SRC phase, which started in 2011, when SRC obtained a RM4 billion loan from Malaysia’s Retirement Fund Incorporated, the country’s civil service pension fund, also known as KWAP, with at least RM69 million making its way into Prime Minister’s Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal banking accounts.

Unless the Prime Minister is going to deny that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”, mentioned 36 times in the DOJ complaint, does not refer to him, and the Cabinet maintain that  Malaysia’s reputation and good name have not been besmirched or stained by the DOJ action, is the Cabinet going to decide on a  Government White Paper to debunk the DOJ complaint about the litany of “criminal conduct” as well as the embezzlement and money-laundering of billions of dollars stolen from 1MDB  meant for the country’s development?

Will the Cabinet on Wednesday order the publication of the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB which had been  classified under the Official Secrets Act and withheld from publication when the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report on 1MDB was tabled in Parliament on April 6 –  to demonstrate to Malaysians and the world that the Government has absolutely nothing to hide in the 1MDB scandal?

Or has  Malaysia a Cabinet of kleptocrats, a Cabinet which does not mind Malaysia gaining overnight an international infamy and notoriety as a kleptocracy, which has been defined as a rule by a thief or thieves.

The Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industries, Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek, has said that the DOJ action to forfeit over US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets  was “normal matter” and nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to the Malaysian government.

Are all Ministers of  Ahmad Shabery’s “normal” state of mind?

The Prime Minister is as good as accused as a co-conspirator of the world’s largest kleptocracy case of 1MDB multi-billion dollar embezzlement and laundering, as Paragraph 33 of the DOJ lawsuit states:

“33. The Defendant Asset represents a portion of the proceeds of over US$3.5 billion misappropriated from 1MDB. That misappropriation occurred in multiple phases over the course of several years.  The misappropriated funds were then used to purchase  the Defendant Asset, as well as to fund the co-conspirators’ lavish lifestyles, including purchase of artwork and jewellery, the acquisition of luxury real estate, the payment of gambling expenses, and the hiring of musicians and celebrities to attend parties. The use of the diverted 1MDB funds for the personal benefit of the co-conspirators and their associates was not consistent with the purposes for which 1MDB raised the funds, and neither 1MDB nor the government of Malaysia realised any returns on these purchases and expenditures.”

Malaysians expect the Cabinet to compose of patriotic Malaysia who would deem  it as their first duty the purging of Malaysia’s name and association as among the world’s top kleptocarcy.

We will know on Wednesday whether Malaysia has a Cabinet of idiots or kleptocrats!

                This entry was posted on Monday, 8 August 2016, 1:16 pm and is filed under
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Is PAC Chairman’s refusal to re-open PAC investigation into 1MDB a signal that Malaysia is to become a nation in denial about the 1MDB global scandal on top of a new  infamy of Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy?

Is the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman, Datuk Hasan Arifin’s refusal to re-open investigations into the 1MDB scandal a signal that Malaysia is to become a nation in denial about the 1MDB global scandal on top of a new infamy of Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy?

Yesterday, DAP National Publicity Secretary and MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua, walked out of the PAC meeting after Hasan rejected his proposal to re-open PAC investigations to 1MDB and to summon the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to testify at the PAC in the light of lawsuits filed by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).

Are we going to have a situation where all the key national institutions, starting with the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, Parliament, the PAC,  the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Police, Bank Negara, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Auditor-General, the mainstream mass media, are going to act in concert as a nation in denial about the 1MDB scandal, virtually ignoring the largest US and global action in the DOJ forfeiture of over US$1 billion assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland as a result of an international conspiracy of embezzlement, money-laundering and misappropriation of 1MDB funds?

The Cabinet meeting tomorrow will be a litmus-test whether Malaysia is going to adopt the stance of a nation in denial about the 1MDB scandal, ignoring the 136-page DOJ lawsuits, coupled  with a “wait-and-see” attitude for the US legal process to take its course, hoping that this will take years!

At the Cabinet meeting tomorrow, which will be 21 days and third Cabinet meeting after the DOJ lawsuits filed on July 21, the Cabinet must prove that it is a Cabinet of Malaysian patriots and not a Cabinet of idiots or kleptocrats.

Barisan Nasional  Strategic Communications Director and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of EPU, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan, has said that there is no secret who is ‘MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1 (MO1)’ and mentioned 36 times in the US 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.

He said “only an idiot doesn’t know who that person was”.

Let us therefore not have any Cabinet idiot of  any Minister who does not know who is   “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”.

As all Minister should know the identity of  “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”, who is accused as a “co-conspirator” and implicated in the “criminal conduct” of embezzlement, money-laundering and misappropriation of some US$3.5 billion 1MBD funds which formed the basis of the US DOJ lawsuits to forfeit over US$1 billion of 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland, inaction as happened in the past three weeks is no option for a Prime Minister, government and nation serious about their reputation, standing and integrity.

Unless the Cabinet  is going to deny that “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1” does not refer to Prime Minister Najib Razak,  and  maintain that  Malaysia’s reputation and good name have not been besmirched or stained by the DOJ action, the Cabinet must debunk the DOJ complaint about the litany of “criminal conduct” by “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”  as well as the embezzlement and money-laundering of billions of dollars stolen from 1MDB  meant for the country’s development?

The  Cabinet must not go down in Malaysian history as a Cabinet of kleptocrats whose Ministers do not mind Malaysia gaining overnight an international infamy and notoriety as a kleptocracy, which has been defined as a rule by a thief or thieves, without taking  prompt,  immediate, serious and effective  action to purge the country of such infamy and notoriety.

There has been a national craze in the past three days to catch Pokemons since the arrival of Pokemon Go in Malaysia on Saturday.  It would be more useful is there is a national craze to identify and exonerate “MALAYSIAN OFFICIAL 1”.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 9 August 2016, 3:34 pm and is filed under
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