Author: Kit

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! Continue reading “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?”

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? Continue reading “Has Malaysia a Cabinet of idiots or kleptocrats?”

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. Continue reading “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”

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? Continue reading “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”

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. Continue reading “New York regulator queries Goldman again on Malaysia’s 1MDB fund: source”

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. Continue reading “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”?”

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. Continue reading “How to fill RM28 billion hole at 1MDB?”

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. Continue reading “Dangers of passing a law to impose hudud”

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. Continue reading “No Break for Worst Asian Currency as Clouds Gather Over Malaysia”

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. Continue reading “Lamenting 1MDB”

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.

Continue reading “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?”

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. Continue reading “Malaysia forfeits US support with 1MDB graft”

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. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Najib Razak, Beset by Growing Scandal, Demands Respect”

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. Continue reading “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”

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. Continue reading “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 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? Continue reading “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 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. Continue reading “Three reasons why Dzulkifi Ahmad is most inappropriate as the new MACC chief!”

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? Continue reading “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”

by Randeep Ramesh
Guardian
Thursday 28 July 2016

How a jailed former banker and a lone British journalist broke a story that shook the world

On 22 June 2015, Xavier Justo, a 48-year-old retired Swiss banker, walked towards the front door of his brand new boutique hotel on Koh Samui, a tropical Thai island. He had spent the past three years building the luxurious white-stone complex of chalets and apartments overlooking the shimmering sea and was almost ready to open for business. All he needed was a licence.

Justo had arrived in Thailand four years earlier, having fled the drab world of finance in London. In 2011, he and his girlfriend Laura toured the country on a motorbike and, two years later, they got married on a secluded beach. The couple eventually settled down in Koh Samui, a tourist hotspot, just an hour’s flight south of Bangkok. After trying out a couple of entrepreneurial ventures, Justo eventually decided that he would go into the hotel business. He bought a plot with an imposing house and began building: adding a gym, villas and a tennis court.

That June afternoon, he was expecting a visit from the tourism authorities to sign off on the paperwork. Instead, a squad of armed Thai police burst through the unlocked door, bundling Justo to the ground. The officers tied their plastic cuffs so tightly around Justo’s wrists that he bled on the dark tiled floor. The police quickly moved into his office, ripping out the computers and emptying the filing cabinets. Continue reading “1MDB: The inside story of the world’s biggest financial scandal”

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? Continue reading “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?”