I have visited 130 parliamentary constituencies in the country in my nation-wide “Pantang Undur – Berani kerana Benar” nation-wide tour during my six-month suspension from Parliament in October last year.
Only three days ago, I visited Kuala Terengganu, Marang, Setiu and Besut in Terengganu and Pasir Puteh in Kelantan.
Wherever I went in the 130 Parliamentary constituencies in the past six months, Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region want the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razal to answer the two simple questions about his global financial scandal – where the money came from and where the money had gone to!
I had not stolen, robbed, murdered or guilty of a global corruption to the tune of RM50 – 55 billion and I shall persist in my demand that the Prime Minister must answer two simple questions about his global financial scandals – Where the money came from and where the money have gone to.
After my six-month suspension from Parliament, Najib has not only been unable to answer these two simple questions, his twin mega scandals have continue to mushroom to become ever more monstrous, with Malaysia topping the global charts as among the most corrupt nations in the world like the third place in international website, foreignpolicy.com’s ranking of the world’s “worst corruption scandal in 2015” at the end of last year, TIME magazine’s second ranking of “global corruption” in March or the Economist’s second placing in its second index of crony capitalism early this month.
Six months ago, we were talking about Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal and the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal – today, we are talking about Najib’s RM4.2 billion “donation” scandal and the RM50-55 billion 1MDB scandal!
But we are no nearer to finding out answers to two simple questions, which resonate throughout the country among Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region: Where the money in the global financial scandals came from where the money have gone go!
The last few days have probably been a “game changer” in the international expose of Najib’s twin mega scandals in the past year, with the media in the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore and other countries zeroing in on them, when the various pieces of the monstrous 1MDB jig-saw puzzle seem to be falling into place, with the following revelations:
• that Najib’s twin 1MDB and “donation” scandals are in fact one big mega financial scandal!
• Najib’s RM4.2 billion “donations” linked to 1MDB;
• The linking of SRC International to the 1MDB scandal.
• MDB’s multibillion USD payments to the mysterious shell companies like British Virgin Island-registered firm Aabar Investment PJS Limited (as distinct from the Abu Dhabi firm Aabar Investment PJS) linked to Najib beneficiaries and personalities closely associated with Penang billionaire Jho Low.
Najib can suppress all reporting about the 1MDB and his “donation” scandals inside the country, and even try to ban the scandal from being raised in Parliament but there is no way to stop the international media from endlessly exposing the various aspects of the nation’s first global financial scandal, as the 1MDB scandal is being investigated by at least eight other countries, in particular the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in the United States.
If there is no basis or truth in the mountain of international media reports about Najib’s twin mega scandals in the past year, Najib would have sued the various international publications, like Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Financial Times of UK, Sydney Morning Herald and The Age of Australia, TIME, Economist as well as CNN and the American and Australian television channels, for defamation till kingdom come – and it speaks volumes that Najib had not dared to sue anyone of the foreign media which have continued to publish new exposes about Najib’s role in the 1MDB global scandal.
It is a matter of national shame that despite the fantastic leg-up and tip-offs given by the international media in the past year based on the national investigations by foreign countries, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the various investigative and enforcement agencies like the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara and the Police have been such abject failures in upholding the law to combat financial and corrupt malpractices in the 1MDB scandal.
Najib as the Prime Minister should be in Parliament to answer the two simple questions – Where have the money come from and where have the money gone to – but he had scooted off to United Kingdom on very weak excuses to avoid parliamentary responsibility and accountability.
I had suggested four ways for Najib and Parliament to begin to redeem their abject failure for over a year to ensure responsibility and accountability for the first global financial scandal in the nation history, viz:
1. Tabling of the Auditor-General’s Report on 1MDB (both interim and final) to Parliament on first day of Parliament tomorrow.
2. A White Paper by Najib to give a comprehensive account on the latest on the 1MDB scandal;
3. Three days set aside for a wide-ranging debate in Parliament on 1MDB; and
4. Directive to the PAC to re-open investigation into the 1MDB scandal.
Let the nation and the world see whether Najib and Parliament are capable of living up to their responsibilities in this fortnight of parliamentary meeting.
(Media Conference Statement in Parliament on 16th May 2016 at 10 am on his return to Parliament after six-month suspension)