Parliament has become a national disgrace when after meeting for two weeks, it is not prepared to do anything to purge and cleanse the national infamy and ignominy of being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy

The Malaysian Parliament has become a national disgrace when after meeting for two weeks, it is not prepared to do anything to purge and cleanse the national infamy and ignominy of being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy.

Parliament experimented with parliamentary reforms like the Ministerial Question Time (MQT) intended to make Parliament more relevant by dealing with urgent topical issues, but my question to the Prime Minister asking what the government was doing to cleanse and purge the country of the infamy and ignominy of being regarded world-wide as a “global kleptocracy” could not see the light of day, although it was submitted three times at each of the first three MQTs in the past fortnight.

This raises the question whether MQT is capable of making Parliament more relevant by dealing with pertinent national issues like the question of the national infamy and ignominy for being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy.

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel to cleanse and purge Malaysia’s infamy and ignominy as a global kleptocracy as a result of the 1MDB global mega-financial scandal, the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s largest single action against US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets under the US Kleptocracy Assets Recovery Initiative and the investigations by regulatory authorities in Switzerland, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Australia, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and United Kingdom?

Or is there no way the issues of integrity, accountability and transparency in the 1MDB global mega- financial scandal could be pinned down and dissected in the Malaysian Parliament for answers and full accountability to be provided by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Ministers and that such answers and reforms are only possible if there is a change of Federal Government in the next 14th General Election?

The official reaction to the speech by the MP for Tambun and former Second Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah in Parliament on Monday asking some questions about the 1MDB global mega-financial scandal is no cause for anyone to believe that the UMNO/BN Government is prepared to “bite the bullet” to allow the full glare of parliamentary scrutiny and accountability over the 1MDB scandal.

UMNO Information chief, Tan Sri Annuar Musa summarily dismissed Husni’s speech and said the former second finance minister had said nothing new in his torrent of questions regarding the 1MDB scandal.

I am very surprised by Annuar’s comments as I have been following very closely the sad and sorry saga of the 1MDB scandal in the past seven years, and as far as I know, this is the first time that Husni has aired his reservations and concerns about the 1MDB global mega-financial scandal in a public arena.

Husni’s warning that Malaysia might continue to be haunted by the 1MDB scandal and his incisive questions about 1MDB problems arising from the missing US$4 billion in Aabar (BVI), the US$6.5 billion arbitration suit with Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) and the RM4 billion loan from Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen (KWAP) to SRC were raised by Husni for the first time in a public forum.

Is Annuar suggesting that Husni had made such a warning and asked these grave questions about the 1MDB scandal within the four walls of the government or UMNO before he resigned as Second Finance Minister?

What is even more shocking was Husni’s revelation in his speech in Parliament that although he had been a loyal and professional Minister, with a KPI “among the best among Ministers”, he had been defamed and demonized by UMNO cybertroopers in the social media after he had left the Cabinet.

As Husni said in his speech in Parliament, “…the social media, dua hari selepas saya berhenti, dia punya attacking kepada saya for no reason and I know who the “A”, “B”, “C” yang attack saya. Why play this game? Let us love the rakyat. Kita bekerjalah untuk rakyat.”

Annuar’s attack on Husni undoubtedly belongs to this genre of very unkind cuts against someone who is still in the same party.

There is a grand charade going on in Parliament and the nation pretending that the grave problem of Malaysia’s infamy and ignominy being regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy does not exist – which is the greatest disservice for an MP to Malaysia as it should be the responsibility for all Ministers and MPs regardless of race, religion, region or political party to unite to cleanse and purge Malaysia’s infamy from being regarded as a global kleptocracy.

Unless the UMNO/BN government has come to the conclusion that it is not possible to cleanse and purge Malaysia of such infamy, and the only option left is to pretend that such infamy and ignominy do not exist. Has Malaysia reached such a sorry pass?