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In Malaysia’s heartland, a call to action over corruption

Daily Mail
By AFP
15 November 2016

With yellow flags waving and vuvuzelas blaring, a convoy of two dozen cars snakes into the sleepy Malaysian town of Batu Gajah, breaking the rural calm with warnings of corruption and national decay.

For nearly seven weeks, Malaysia’s leading pro-reform group has waged an information insurgency through towns and villages nationwide, shining light on a scandal involving Prime Minister Najib Razak and state-owned fund 1MDB.

In public speeches, flyers and door-to-door canvassing, the unprecedented campaign attempts to explain a highly complex and seemingly distant affair in what is essentially hostile territory — Malaysia’s pro-government rural heartland.

“We have planted the seed. The seed where people actually start to ask what is (the) 1MDB scandal all about?” said Maria Chin Abdullah, chair of civil-society alliance Bersih, during a recent swing through rural central Malaysia. Continue reading “In Malaysia’s heartland, a call to action over corruption”

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Some politicizing 1MDB for personal advantage, Malaysian leader says

CK TAN
Nikkei Asian Review
November 15, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says it was he who first ordered probes of a troubled state investment fund, and he charges that the issue has been politicized by “certain elements.”

Malaysian authorities, including a bipartisan parliamentary committee, had concluded that weaknesses existed in the management of 1MDB, but none of its executives have been charged so far on allegations of embezzlement. However, authorities in Singapore, Switzerland and the U.S. are probing entities and people related to 1MDB for possible money laundering and other offenses.

In written responses to questions from the Nikkei Asian Review ahead of a three-day visit to Tokyo that begins Tuesday, Najib also touched on Malaysia’s plans for high-speed rail as well as relations with China and Japan. Below are excerpts from the responses.

Q: Foreign governments are investigating the misappropriation of funds related to 1MDB. Do you consider these actions as interference? Will Malaysia reopen investigations into the fund following probes in foreign jurisdictions?

A: Malaysian authorities have actually led the way in investigations into 1MDB. It was I who first instructed multiple authorities in Malaysia to conduct investigations. For example, the company has been the subject of investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the auditor general, the police and the bipartisan parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, which includes opposition politicians. I have always made clear that full cooperation should be extended to any investigation provided it is in accordance with the laws of our country. Furthermore, as I have consistently stated, if any wrongdoing is proven, the law will be enforced without exception.

However, it is important to note that this has become a highly politicized matter, with certain elements within Malaysia attempting to exploit this for their own personal political benefit, and feeding foreign authorities with at times false or incomplete information. Those outside Malaysia cannot always appreciate these complexities, but it is something they should bear in mind to avoid becoming entangled in what has become a domestic political matter. Continue reading “Some politicizing 1MDB for personal advantage, Malaysian leader says”

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Don’t forget 1MDB just yet

By Zan Azlee
Asian Correspondent
14th November 2016

A LOT of things happening in Malaysia are grabbing headlines in the news media, from the martial arts obsessed racist red shirts who break concrete blocks on their heads while demonstrating silat skills and protesting against clean and fair elections, to Prime Minister Najib Razak singing karaoke with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.

This is all fine and good. I mean, these are current events and definitely newsworthy to be in the media. What I am trying to say is that, although we can and do consume news that is absurd and amusing to our hearts, we should also not forget the news that is more important and has a more adverse affect on society.

Recently, news just broke about how the Malaysian government has refused to provide information and to collaborate with Switzerland’s authorities who are currently investigating corruption allegations within their banking system that is related to the 1MDB scandal, 1MDB being the controversy hit national sovereign wealth fund.

According to news reports, Malaysia is refusing to provide details to the Swiss authorities because apparently, the attorney-general’s office claims that there is an on-going police investigation by Malaysian police on the 1MDB. And this isn’t the first time they have refused to assist. Continue reading “Don’t forget 1MDB just yet”

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Malaysia’s Running Out of Trump Cards

By Andy Mukherjee
Bloomberg
Nov 13, 2016

Amid a deepening emerging-market rout, three of Donald Trump’s seven promises to American workers are making Asia particularly nervous.A U.S. withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership would kill the 12-nation deal, while labeling China as a currency manipulator is set to provoke a tit-for-tat response. If the president-elect delivers on those two threats, the export-led region will wait for Trump to make good on his vow to end “all foreign trading abuses.”Although no Asian nation would relish the prospect of an all-out trade war, Malaysian investors are perhaps most at risk.

Why Malaysia? China, Japan, South Korea, India and Singapore are among America’s 15 biggest trading partners; Malaysia is not. And while it’s a TPP member, the accord’s demise is the least of Kuala Lumpur’s worries. It might even be a short-term boon. After all, the Southeast Asian country is an energy and palm-oil exporter. It’s not terribly competitive at much else.

Opening up Malaysia’s consumer economy of 30 million people as part of the free-trade bargain could turn a fast-vanishing current-account surplus into a permanent deficit. That would weigh on the ringgit, scare away investors in Malaysian bonds, and lead to a spike in companies’ cost of capital.

But TPP being dead doesn’t help either. For one, dollars are in short supply in the banking system, and therefore a flight to safety among investors jittery about a Trump presidency makes Malaysia a particularly vulnerable emerging market. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Running Out of Trump Cards”

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1MDB: Malaysia’s extraordinary financial scandal

Daily Mail
By AFP
15 November 2016

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been under fire since 2014 over allegations that billions of dollars were looted from state investment fund 1MDB in an audacious campaign of fraud and money-laundering.

On Saturday, an influential pro-reform group is planning a rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur to demand Najib’s ouster over the affair.

Here are some answers to key questions in the saga. Continue reading “1MDB: Malaysia’s extraordinary financial scandal”

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Malaysia’s 1MDB in university hard sell

BEN BUTLER and KYLAR LOUSSIKIAN
The Australian
November 15, 2016

An investigation by US authorities into the alleged theft of billions of dollars from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund 1MDB was in part fuelled by Attorney-General Loretta Lynch’s desire to divert attention from Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, according to materials distributed in private lectures given by the company’s chief executive Arul Kanda in Australia last week.

The glossy 20-page booklet claims the US Department of Justice investigation, which has so far resulted in the freezing of more than $US1 billion ($1.34bn) in ­assets allegedly removed from 1MDB, is “questionable, strange and bizarre” and threatens the stability of Malaysia.

When it was set up in 2009, 1MDB was touted as a development bank that would invest billions of dollars into energy, real estate and hospitality, but the DoJ alleges the pillaging of the fund began within months of its creation.

Under increasing pressure from the series of international investigations, 1MDB and the ­Malaysian Special Affairs Department, JASA, have been secretly shoring up support among backers of the country’s ruling party in a series of closed-door lectures at Australian universities. Continue reading “Malaysia’s 1MDB in university hard sell”

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MalaysiaKini commended for its frame-by-frame footage of the Jamal red-nose incident during the Red Shirts’ anti-Bersih outing at Ampang Point to highlight the provocation of kleptocrats and their ilk to sabotage Bersih 5

Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, gender, age, region or politics, have a rendezvous with history at the Bersih 5 rally outside Dataran Merdeka on Saturday, November 19, to send a clear, united and unmistakable message to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Malaysians and the watching world of their resolve to reclaim Malaysia as a land of democracy and not to become a land of kleptocracy.

The conviction and jail sentence of one of the most outspoken leaders in Malaysia against corruption and abuses of power, Rafizi Ramli, MP for Pandan and Secretary-General of PKR, on two charges under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972 for trying to unravel the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocracy scandal, and his disqualification to stand for election as an MP in the forthcoming 14th General Election, has highlighted the special pertinence and importance of Bersih 5 rally this Saturday.

Today, November 14, 2016 is a black day for democracy in Malaysia. It is however a great day for kleptocracy in Malaysia.

Let November 19, 2016 be a great day for democracy and a black day for kleptocracy in Malaysia.

Malaysians regardless of race, religion, gender, age, region or politics must reclaim the country as a democracy and not a kleptocracy – and let this begin on Bersih 5 on Saturday, culminating in the 14th General Election expected next year. Continue reading “MalaysiaKini commended for its frame-by-frame footage of the Jamal red-nose incident during the Red Shirts’ anti-Bersih outing at Ampang Point to highlight the provocation of kleptocrats and their ilk to sabotage Bersih 5”

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‘Jho Low was a big client who brought 1MDB deals to BSI’

By Chan Chao Peh / The Edge Financial Daily | November 14, 2016

SINGAPORE: Low Taek Jho or Jho Low was an important client of BSI Bank (Singapore) Ltd because he brought a number of “very huge” deals to the bank, ex-BSI banker Yeo Jiawei told a Singapore court.

Yeo said Jho Low was a very important client of Yak Yew Chee, a senior relationship manager at BSI who was the person who gave instructions to him (Yeo) on what he (Jho Low) wanted done.

He described Jho Low as a “gatekeeper and adviser” to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

Yeo is on trial for tampering with witnesses involved in Singapore’s investigations into the laundering of billions of dollars that belonged to 1MDB. He has also been charged with money laundering and the trial will start next April.

Last Friday Yak pleaded guilty and was jailed for 18 weeks and fined S$24,000 (RM72,850) for forging documents and failure to report suspicious transactions. He also forfeited a substantial part of the S$27 million he had earned for the billions of dollars in 1MDB related transactions. Continue reading “‘Jho Low was a big client who brought 1MDB deals to BSI’”

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Rafizi’s conviction, jail sentence and disqualification as MP confront Malaysians with the stark choice in 14GE whether they want democracy or kleptocracy in Malaysia

November 14, 2016 is a black day for democracy in Malaysia. It is however a great day for kleptocracy in Malaysia.

Today, one of the most outspoken leaders in Malaysia against corruption and abuses of power, Rafizi Ramli, MP for Pandan and Secretary-General of PKR, was convicted on two charges under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972 for trying to unravel the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocracy scandal, sentenced to 18 months’ jail each and will be disqualified from standing for election as a Member of Parliament in the next 14th General Elections unless his appeal against conviction and sentence could succeed in the higher courts.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak called for the rejection of hypocrisy in public policy and politics.

Is the Malaysian government led by the Prime Minister guilty of hypocrisy in public policy and politics, especially with regard to the greatest question confronting Malaysians today – whether Malaysia should be a democracy or a kleptocracy?

Singapore over the weekend saw the first criminal conviction linked to the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal when former managing director of BSI in Singapore, Yak Yew Chew, 57, pleaded guilty to four charges relating to forgery and failure to disclose information.

Yak was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail and a S$24,000 fine after he agreed to disgorge S$7.5 million and to co-operate with Singapore investigations into the multi-billion dollar international 1MDB kleptocratic, embezzlement and money-laundering scandal.

In Malaysia, our first criminal conviction is not to uncover and penalize culprits and criminals responsible for the multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic scandal, which has caused the nation to suffer the international infamy and ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”, but against a person who had patriotically and valiantly stood up for full accountability and transparency for the 1MDB kleptocratic scandal! Continue reading “Rafizi’s conviction, jail sentence and disqualification as MP confront Malaysians with the stark choice in 14GE whether they want democracy or kleptocracy in Malaysia”

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Najib cannot be more wrong – Malaysia is far from a “mediocre” country or we would not have become a “global kleptocracy” in seven short years!

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in Sabah on Saturday that Malaysia don’t want to be a mediocre country as his 2050 National Transformation (TN50) agenda is to become a class one nation.

But Najib cannot be more wrong as Malaysia is far from a mediocre country or we would not have become a “global kleptocracy” in a matter of seven short years since his taking over as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia in April 2009!

The Concise Oxford Dictionary (Eighth edition 1990) defined “mediocre” as “(1) of middling quality, neither good nor bad; 2. second-rate”.

Malaysia is not “neither good nor bad” or “second-rate” but extremely “bad” and first-rate, probably top of the class of nations in the realm of “kleptocracy”.

In fact, I can think of no country which had leapt to the realm of a “global kleptocracy” in so short span of time – a feat none of the previous five Prime Ministers, including Najib’s father, Tun Razak, would even have contemplated let alone accomplished! Continue reading “Najib cannot be more wrong – Malaysia is far from a “mediocre” country or we would not have become a “global kleptocracy” in seven short years!”

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14th General Election will be battle of democracy versus kleptocracy

The next General Elections will be a battle of democracy versus kleptocracy.

There is speculation that the next general elections would be held early next year. It could also be held in the second half of next year, especially after the 60th National Day celebrations centred on August 31, 2017.

Be that as it may, the voters of Malaysia should be asked to vote for democrats or kleptocrats, as to whether they want Malaysia to become a democracy or a kleptocracy.

What recently happened highlights the stark choice of the people between democracy and kleptocracy in the next general elections.

In the last two days, the international media have been screaming with headlines about the first criminal conviction linked to the 1MDB global financial scandal which took place in Singapore on Friday, viz:

• “Former BSI boss gets jail, fine in 1MDB-linked case” (Straits Times, Singapore);

• “Singapore Court Convicts Ex-BSI Banker in 1MDB Probe” (Wall Street Journal);

• “Former banker convicted in Singapore over 1MDB scandal” (Financial Times, London);

• “Singaporean banker jailed for role in 1MDB scandal” (Taipei Times);

• “Ex-BSI Banker Yak Found Guilty in Singapore 1MDB-Linked Case” (Bloomberg);

• “1MDB probe: Singapore banker Yak Yew Chee gets 18 weeks’ jail, S$24,000 fine” (Channel News Asia).

The common theme if these negative headlines is “1MDB”, a Malaysian state-owned investment fund supposed to attract foreign investment but instead spurred criminal and regulatory investigations around the world – and with Najib as the head of its advisory board exercising veto and final executive powers.

But the Malaysian government authorities and institutions pretend that these foreign criminal and regulatory investigations and actions linked to 1MDB’s international money-laundering forays do not exist. Continue reading “14th General Election will be battle of democracy versus kleptocracy”

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Singapore Court Convicts Ex-BSI Banker in 1MDB Probe

By JAKE MAXWELL WATTS and P.R. VENKAT
Wall Street Journal
Nov. 11, 2016

Singapore is the first country to convict someone in the alleged fraud at the Malaysian state fund

SINGAPORE—A Singapore court Friday sentenced a key suspect in an ongoing probe into alleged misappropriation at Malaysian state fund 1MDB, in the first conviction of a person linked to the alleged multibillion-dollar fraud.

Yak Yew Chee, 57, the banker in charge of managing the relationship with 1MDB at the Singapore branch of Swiss bank BSI SA, on Friday pleaded guilty to two charges of forgery and two charges of failing to report suspicious transactions related to dealings with the fund. He was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment and a fine of 24,000 Singapore dollars (US$17,105), and agreed to surrender S$7.5 million in salary and bonuses previously frozen by investigators.

The conviction marks a milestone in the investigation of what happened at 1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Bhd., a fund set up by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 that raised as much as US$13 billion — with a public mandate to promote the country’s economic development. Continue reading “Singapore Court Convicts Ex-BSI Banker in 1MDB Probe”

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1MDB probe: Singapore banker Yak Yew Chee gets 18 weeks’ jail, S$24,000 fine

By Vanessa Paige Chelvan
Channel News Asia
11 Nov 2016

SINGAPORE: Former private banker Yak Yew Chee, whose clients included Malaysian tycoon Jho Low and subsidiaries of Malaysia’s scandal-hit state fund 1MDB has been jailed 18 weeks and fined S$24,000.

Yak, 57, pleaded guilty on Friday (Nov 11) afternoon to four of seven charges: Two for forging reference letters vouching for the Low family and two for failing to report suspicious transactions involving tens of millions of dollars coursing through BSI bank in Singapore.

Mr Low was named on Thursday as a person of interest in Singapore’s ongoing probe into illicit transactions involving 1MDB, amid allegations he embezzled billions from the state fund. Continue reading “1MDB probe: Singapore banker Yak Yew Chee gets 18 weeks’ jail, S$24,000 fine”

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Singaporean banker jailed for role in 1MDB scandal

Taipei Times
November 13, 2016

AFP, SINGAPORE

A Singaporean private banker was jailed on Friday on fraud charges relating to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) financial scandal, becoming the first figure to be convicted in the international multibillion-dollar saga.

Allegations that huge sums were misappropriated from the Malaysian state fund through money laundering have triggered a massive corruption scandal that has embroiled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Prosecutors said Yak Yew Chee (易有志), a former managing director at the Singapore branch of Swiss bank BSI SA, helped manage funds linked to 1MDB, which was set up by Najib with the help of a close family friend, Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho (劉特佐).

Yak, 57, who was also a private banker to Low, forged reference letters to Swiss banks and funds, and failed to report suspicious money transfers involving accounts belonging to his client, the prosecutors said.

He was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail after pleading guilty to four charges of forgery and failure to report suspicious transactions related to the investment fund.

He was also fined S$24,000 (US$17,000) by a Singaporean district court.

One of these transactions saw a 1MDB subsidiary transfer US$110 million, channeled through six banks and nine accounts, to the Swiss bank account of Selune Ltd, a company US investigators said is owned by Low.

The banker for the subsidiary, 1MDB Energy Ltd, was Falcon Private Bank Ltd, whose Singapore branch was shut down by regulators this year.

The complex web of transactions cut across international borders as the money passed through accounts controlled by Low and his father.

The transactions were flagged as suspicious by BSI compliance officers, but dismissed by the bank’s senior management who said that “intra-family transfers are not always going to be logical,” according to court documents.

Yak was paid a bonus of S$7.5 million for his dealings with Low that has now been forfeited to the state. Continue reading “Singaporean banker jailed for role in 1MDB scandal”

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Former banker convicted in Singapore over 1MDB scandal

Jeevan Vasagar in Singapore
Financial Times
NOVEMBER 11, 2016

Yak Yew Chew ‘motivated by a desire to please’ Malaysian businessman Jho Low

A private banker in Singapore convicted on Friday of forging documents and failing to disclose suspicious transactions was “motivated by a desire to please” Jho Low, the Malaysian businessman linked by US prosecutors to the 1MDB scandal, a court has been told.

Yak Yew Chew, 57, a managing director of BSI, a Swiss private bank, was convicted of four charges relating to forgery and failure to disclose information.

The case, the first criminal conviction linked to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB affair, has highlighted the risks posed by the rapid growth of the private banking industry in Singapore, and the influence exerted by powerful clients on their wealth managers.

The court was told Mr Low had informed BSI he was helping 1MDB, the Malaysian state investment fund, to invest.

Mr Yak’s lawyer, Lee Teck Leng, said in a plea in mitigation: “Our client was motivated by a desire to please Low as Low was his most important customer at BSI. Low had brought in a lot of business, not just for our client but for BSI as a whole.” Continue reading “Former banker convicted in Singapore over 1MDB scandal”

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The four weeks “horribilis” that reinforce world perceptions that Malaysia has become a global kleptocracy

Parliament reconvened on Oct. 17 for a 25-day budget meeting, and Malaysia has gone through probably the worst four weeks of the nation’s six decades of history which strengthened world perceptions that Malaysia has become a global kleptocracy.

There were no efforts whatsoever to rebut and refute Malaysia’s infamy and ignominy of being regarded world-wide as a “global kleptocracy”, or to zero in on the international multi-billion ringgit kleptocratic 1MDB embezzlement and money-laundering scandal which caused Malaysia to be regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy” with (as I said in Parliament) Malaysia ruled by PPP – Pencuri, Perompak dan Penyamun.

These four weeks horribilis started with the ruling by the Speaker of Parliament making the unprecedented ruling anywhere in the world applying the sub judice rule arising from lawsuits in foreign countries to censor and outlaw question, debate and discussion not only about the US Department of Justice (DOJ) largest kleptocratic action for the forfeiture of US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland, but anything concerning the 1MDB scandal.

Even three former Cabinet Ministers who spoke in Parliament on 1MDB in the 2017 Budget debate are being hauled up by the police for investigation (at the instigation of the Speaker) – contrary to Constitutional guarantees on parliamentary privileges and immunities except in clear-cut cases of violation of the four constitutionally-entrenched sensitive issues under the Sedition Act which do not apply in the present cases.

All over the world, the reverberations from Malaysia being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy as a result of the 1MDB global financial scandal continues unabated in the past four weeks, but in the Malaysian Parliament there is the great pretence that Malaysia’s infamy being regarded world-wide as a global kleptocracy as a result of the 1MDB global financial scandal does not exist and had become a “sensitive” subject which could not be raised in Parliament. Continue reading “The four weeks “horribilis” that reinforce world perceptions that Malaysia has become a global kleptocracy”

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Ex-BSI Banker Yak Found Guilty in Singapore 1MDB-Linked Case

Andrea Tan and Livia Yap
Bloomberg
November 11, 2016

Yak Yew Chee, a former BSI SA private banker, became the first person to be found guilty in a Singapore case linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd. He also became the first banker to be convicted in the global corruption and money laundering probes surrounding the Malaysian investment fund.

Yak pleaded guilty in a Singapore court Friday and the judge convicted him of four charges, including forging documents and failing to disclose suspicious transactions allegedly related to Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho. The former senior banker at BSI had faced seven charges, and prosecutors said the other three charges would be taken into consideration for sentencing.

Low has been named as a key person of interest by Singapore authorities and characterized by U.S. prosecutors as the controller of an illicit payments scheme draining billions from the Malaysian investment fund. The high-living financier had previously described his role with 1MDB as informal consulting that didn’t break any laws. Continue reading “Ex-BSI Banker Yak Found Guilty in Singapore 1MDB-Linked Case”

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Malaysia rebuffs Swiss inquiries into 1MDB

Ralph Atkins in Bern and Jeevan Vasagar in Singapore
Financial Times
10th Nov 2016

Refusal adds to concerns about Kuala Lumpur’s response to multiple investigations

Malaysia has rebuffed Swiss efforts to investigate multibillion-dollar corruption allegations surrounding the 1MDB state investment fund.

Officials in Kuala Lumpur refused an appeal from Swiss authorities for help in gathering evidence into claims that up to $4.8bn was diverted from companies linked to 1MDB, a fund set up by Najib Razak, Malaysia’s prime minister.

The refusal will add to questions about the adequacy of Malaysia’s apparent response to an affair that is the subject of multiple international inquiries.

Switzerland had twice asked Malaysia for mutual legal assistance, Michael Lauber, the Swiss attorney-general, said in an interview.

“Very recently we have had the response that the Malaysian authorities will not reply to our request,” he said. “They just said that under their legal framework, they can’t reply.” Continue reading “Malaysia rebuffs Swiss inquiries into 1MDB”

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Congrats Pandikar on improving googling skills but he has still some distance to go to acquire general proficiency of an ordinary Internet user

Congrats to the Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia on his improving googling skills but it is obvious he has still some distance to go to acquire general proficiency expected of any ordinary Internet user.

Early this month, Pandikar “congratulated” the DAP MP for Segambut, Lim Lip Eng, for discovering on the Internet an episode which revealed that in 1981, several parliamentarians had left the House of Commons when the finance minister tabled the budget – in rebuttal of the Speaker’s earlier remark on the walkout staged by Pakatan Harapan MPs when Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak tabled Budget 2017 in Parliament on Oct 21.

Pandikar had at the time admitted to not being as well-versed, or careless, in “Googling”. Continue reading “Congrats Pandikar on improving googling skills but he has still some distance to go to acquire general proficiency of an ordinary Internet user”

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Southeast Asia’s strongmen revel in Trump victory

Michael Peel in Bangkok
Financial Times
10th Nov 2016

Region’s autocratic leaders look for change in US approach after Obama years

Donald Trump’s election win has thrilled autocratic leaders in several countries in Southeast Asia, an area of strategic and security focus during the Obama years. Some have bridled in the past against US criticism of their human rights and corruption records. Most are strongmen who might see in Mr Trump’s victory a tacit endorsement of their tactics — and a repudiation of the outgoing Washington administration’s agenda.

Outspoken Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed the election of a man he appears to see as a kindred spirit — and as having the potential to patch up relations that have frayed amid US criticism of his bloody war on drugs. Mr Duterte, who has called President Barack Obama a “son of a bitch” and told him to “go to hell”, noted that he and Mr Trump were “both making curses. Even with trivial matters we curse.” He also said he hoped he could now stop arguing with Washington, whose longstanding security alliance with Manila is crucial to the US military presence in Asia’s seas. Mr Duterte has attacked Washington frequently, announcing a “separation” from the US and claiming it has treated the Philippines like a dog tied to a post. There may yet be obstacles between the two new leaders, however: Mr Trump last month said Mr Duterte’s pledge to expel US troops from the Philippines showed “a lack of respect for our country”.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak appeared jubilant at a result he claimed was a sign voters wanted fewer “foreign interventions” by the US. Mr Najib has faced the embarrassment of a US investigation that has alleged billions of dollars were looted from Malaysia’s 1MDB state investment fund, whose advisory board he used to chair. A US Department of Justice lawsuit to recover $1bn in assets allegedly bought with stolen 1MDB money claimed in July that $681m had been paid into the account of “Malaysia Official 1”, whose biography matches Mr Najib’s. The Malaysian leader has always denied any wrongdoing and his government has stifled efforts to investigate the 1MDB case in Malaysia. Now he has the chance to develop his relationship with a new president whom, according to the statement, he already knows. “I congratulate him on this extraordinary victory, and look forward to meeting him again soon,” Mr Najib said. Continue reading “Southeast Asia’s strongmen revel in Trump victory”