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Citizens’ Demands on 1MDB and Najib’s US$1 billion “donation”

The 1MDB Colloquium held in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar on 11th and 12th June 2016 respectively, which was graced by many distinguished speakers have raised many pertinent issues with regards to the Government’s complete lack of accountability with 1MDB.

The recent global developments over 1MDB made it even more imperative for Dato’ Seri Najib Razak to explain what he has refused to explain for more than a year.

We, the undersigned, are citizens of Malaysia demanding clear and direct answers by the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak and his Cabinet on the following pressing questions on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and Najib’s US$1 billion deposits into his personal bank account:

1. Who will pay if 1MDB loses the arbitration case with Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC)?

On 14 June 2016, IPIC has filed its US$6.5 billion worth of claims against 1MDB in London’s Arbitration Court. IPIC is seeking US$3.5 billion bond plus interest that amounts to US$4.8 billion, the US$1.2 billion loan plus interest, and about US$481 million owed to its subsidiary, Aabar Investment PJS.

The above claims followed the discovery that 1MDB has made as much as US$3.5 billion of payments to a fraudulent British Virgin Island incorporated entity, Aabar Investment PJS Limited, which IPIC has denied ownership. Continue reading “Citizens’ Demands on 1MDB and Najib’s US$1 billion “donation””

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Twin Malaysia By-Elections to Reveal Level of Support for Najib

by Shamim Adam
Bloomberg
June 18, 2016

Voters in two Malaysian districts head to the polls Saturday in by-elections that will indicate the extent of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s hold on his party.

More than 42,600 people in Sungai Besar in Selangor state and 33,000 in Kuala Kangsar in the northern Perak region will pick new lawmakers after a helicopter crash last month killed incumbents from Najib’s United Malays National Organisation, or UMNO.

The vote is the first test of public support for Najib on peninsular Malaysia after a year of political turmoil over funding scandals. Losses or narrower victories could spur concern in UMNO about his ability to steer it to another win in a national election due by 2018. Equally, a strong win for seats already held by UMNO would bolster his grip.

Former leader Mahathir Mohamad has recently lost traction in his bid to convince party officials that Najib is a liability and will cost them a reign unbroken since 1957. Most UMNO divisional chiefs back the premier, even amid concerns about slowing growth and its impact on ethnic Malays, the cornerstone of the party. Convincing wins would help Najib silence the Mahathir-led murmurings about his leadership. Continue reading “Twin Malaysia By-Elections to Reveal Level of Support for Najib”

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It is still not too late for every voter, especially outside Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar, to make the historic trip home to vote in the two most important by-elections in nation’s history

The 13-day campaign for the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar by-elections are over and it is for the 32,632 voters in Kuala Kangsar and 42,365 voters in Sungai Besar to decide the outcome of the two historic by-elections today.

For the past two weeks, I had been shuttling between Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar, and it is my hope that on the 50th anniversary of my political work in Malaysia, I can get a big present – a historic and miraculous victory in the Kuala Kangsar and/or Sungai Besar by-elections.

Can we “write history, create miracle” today?

I confess to be disheartened by a good round-up article in Malay Mail Online, “As poll looms, Sungai Besar voters ask: Should I bother?” by its reporter, A. Ruban, quoting several voters who were staunch supporters of the now defunct Pakatan Rakyat in two minds about casting their ballots in the Sungai Besar by-election. Continue reading “It is still not too late for every voter, especially outside Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar, to make the historic trip home to vote in the two most important by-elections in nation’s history”