Posted on

Malaysia’s 1MDB Scandal: Political Intrigue, Billions Missing and International Scrutiny

By TOM WRIGHT And KEN BROWN
Wall Street Journal
Oct. 23, 2015

Investment fund is under investigation in five countries

HONG KONG — A scandal involving a government investment fund in Malaysia is drawing world-wide attention and has led to calls at home for the ouster of the country’s prime minister. It is also affecting U.S. diplomacy in a strategically important part of Asia. The fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, is under investigation in five countries.

It is a story of political intrigue, backroom politics and billions of dollars in missing money. At the center of it all is Prime Minister Najib Razak, who founded 1MDB. A Malaysian government probe found that nearly $700 million moved through banks, agencies and companies linked to 1MDB before being deposited into Mr. Najib’s alleged private bank accounts ahead of a close election. The source of the money is unclear, though in August, Malaysia’s anticorruption body said the funds were a donation from the Middle East. The donor wasn’t specified.

Here’s a primer on Malaysia, 1MDB and the scandal that has drawn the interest of investigators from around the world. Continue reading “Malaysia’s 1MDB Scandal: Political Intrigue, Billions Missing and International Scrutiny”

Posted on

Mahathir probably the next victim of the 1MDB Monster stalking the land devouring critics

I said in Parliament yesterday that I was the latest victim of the 1MDB “Monster” stalking the land devouring critics.

Parliamentary conventions, practice and procedures have been shoved aside to achieve the objective to suspend me from Parliament for six months, although the proper parliamentary procedure and practice would be to refer me to the Committee of Privileges to ascertain whether what I said in Parliament when seeking clarification from the AMANAH MP for Sepang, Mohamed Hanipa bin Maidin was a “contempt” of the Speaker and Parliament, or whether the Speaker was misguided when he alleged that I had accused him of “deliberately” abusing his powers and sabotaging the Public Accounts Committee investigations into the 1MDB scandal.

On Wednesday, I had submitted to Parliament the following motion under Standing Order 43 to review the Speaker’s decision in August to stop the PAC from continuing its 1MDB investigations:

“Under Standing Orders 43 and 99, this House resolves that the ruling of the Speaker in August 2015 prohibiting the Public Accounts Committee under its Deputy Chairman, MP for Kepong, from continuing its proceedings to investigate the 1MDB scandal until the Chairman of the PAC has been appointed is wrong, an abuse of power and incompatible with the objective in having a Public Accounts Committee which enjoys credibility and respect of Malaysians for its commitment and conscientiousness to ensure that all government and public finances uphold the highest standards of integrity.”

Although my notice of this motion has become academic with my suspension from Parliament yesterday, had I also committed contempt of Speaker and Parliament in submitting such a motion to the Speaker on Wednesday, in total contravention of parliamentary convention, and practice and procedure? Continue reading “Mahathir probably the next victim of the 1MDB Monster stalking the land devouring critics”

Posted on

Has Hasan Arifin been appointed PAC Chairman with a pre-fixed agenda to exclude Tony Pua from PAC’s 1MDB investigations?

I want to congratulate the new BN MP for Rompin Datuk Hasan Ariffin on his election as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for he has an unenviable task – as he does not have months, but only weeks, to establish himself as an independent and intrepid PAC Chairman whose remit is the integrity of government finances and who will uphold it against transgressors, whether the Finance Minister or Prime Minister.

When accepting the appointment as PAC Chairman particularly at these trying national times, Hassan must be armed with the maxim “Let justice be done though the heavens fall” in discharging his duties as PAC Chairman, because it will be a test whether he is prepared to lead the PAC to serve the higher national interests if this conflict with his loyalty to the party, the UMNO/BN government coalition and the Prime Minister himself.

Ariffin should be aware that an inquiry into the 1MDB transactions is in fact an inquiry into Najib’s role in 1MDB, Najib’s most controversial brainchild.

He should not accept his appointment as PAC Chairman if he is not prepared to rise above party interests if they conflict with national interests, such as to take a stand against the transgressions if any of the Finance Minister-cum-Prime Minister, especially as he seems to be pivotally involved in all 1MDB’s key and strategic decisions.

Having been blocked for some three months from conducting 1MDB investigations by the simple expedient of the Prime Minister promoting the PAC Chairman and three members as Minister or Deputy Minister in the sudden Cabinet reshuffle on July 28, Malaysians who want the PAC to immediately get on with its 1MDB investigations without any further delay, must have cringed at Ariffin’s comments after his appointment envisaging the possibility that the PAC under him might not even be able to meet at all this year. Continue reading “Has Hasan Arifin been appointed PAC Chairman with a pre-fixed agenda to exclude Tony Pua from PAC’s 1MDB investigations?”

Posted on

Malaysia’s 1MDB Gets Bids for Power Assets

By P. R. VENKAT
Wall Street Journal
Oct. 17, 2015

Malaysia’s government investment fund has received three bids from domestic and international companies to buy its power assets, as the embattled state-run firm tries to dig itself out from its US$11 billion debt load.

In a statement late Friday, 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, said that it had received “binding and fully funded offers from three strategic investors.” 1MDB didn’t mention the names of the bidders for the assets, which are owned by a unit called Edra Global Energy Bhd.

Only one of the bidders publicly said it made an offer for the power assets. That bidder, another state-run power company called Tenaga Nasional Bhd., which is 30% owned by Malaysia’s sovereign-wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd., said Friday that it had submitted a conditional offer.

Tenaga didn’t say what it bid for the assets, but added that its bid was subject to conditions that included support from its outside shareholders for any potential transaction and more information from 1MDB on the power plants’ operations. It wasn’t clear why Tenaga’s description of its offer as conditional appeared to contradict 1MDB’s characterization of all three offers as binding.

1MDB’s travails have put Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in the spotlight, while hammering investor confidence in the commodities-exporting Southeast Asian nation at a time when it is suffering from fund outflows and falling oil prices.

Though the proposed sale of 1MDB’s power plants initially attracted several local and international players, the interest petered out. Continue reading “Malaysia’s 1MDB Gets Bids for Power Assets”

Posted on

Malaysia’s Najib Razak Played Key Role at Troubled 1MDB Investment Fund

By Tom Wright And Bradley Hope
Wall Street Journal
Oct. 15, 2015

Prime minister ordered removal of auditors, authorized controversial investment, Malaysian investigation shows

In early 2013 at the glitzy World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Malaysia’s prime minister approached the country’s longtime financial adviser Goldman Sachs with an urgent assignment.

A government investment fund the prime minister oversaw wanted Goldman to help it raise $3 billion quickly and quietly, according to people close to the bank.

The fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, was Prime Minister Najib Razak’s signature initiative, envisioned as helping transform Malaysia into a modern Muslim democracy fueled by new industries. It burnished his credentials as a new type of liberal, Western-friendly leader, embraced by the U.S. as a counterbalance to China.

Its projects also stood to polish Mr. Najib’s standing with Malaysians who would soon be voting in an election. Goldman was told the fund wanted the money quickly so it could hold a public unveiling of a major investment in a planned high-profile financial center in Kuala Lumpur.

That development stalled, though the money was raised. Today, 1MDB has come to represent a different side of Malaysia—and of Mr. Najib. Even as he was courting Goldman officials in the Alps, opposition politicians were raising questions about 1MDB and how the billions it was raising were being used. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Najib Razak Played Key Role at Troubled 1MDB Investment Fund”

Posted on

Revelation of Najib’s involvement in 1MDB scandal “doesn’t rain, it pours” – false claim that it is “no longer under investigation” when it is most investigated company, both at home and internationally

Despite denials by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his cohort of Ministers and publicity minions, revelations about Najib’s involvement in the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal continues unabated.

In fact, it would be appropriate to say that as far as revelation about Najib’s involvement in the 1MDB scandal – it doesn’t rain, it pours.

Reuters have reported that it has been informed by a FBI spokesperson that the U.S. Government is reviewing Goldman Sachs’ business relationship with Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund as part of a broader, wide-ranging investigation into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), an FBI spokesperson told Reuters yesterday.

Reuters reported that US law enforcement sources are “aware of Goldman’s possible involvement” in investments with 1MDB, but the bureau has “yet to determine if the matter will become the focus of any investigation into the 1MDB scandal.”

Reuters said the review into Goldman’s ties with 1MDB marks the latest development in a wide-ranging global investigation across three continents into possible corruption and money-laundering.
Continue reading “Revelation of Najib’s involvement in 1MDB scandal “doesn’t rain, it pours” – false claim that it is “no longer under investigation” when it is most investigated company, both at home and internationally”

Posted on

In just a week, the Malay Rulers’ concern about 1MDB has proved to be valid, legitimate and prescient, with all Najib Ministers competing in political “tai chi” and 1MDB CEO even claiming it is “no longer under investigation”

In just a week, the Malay Rulers’ concern about the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal has proved to be valid, legitimate and prescient, with the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s Ministers competing in political “tai chi” and the 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda even claiming that 1MDB is “no longer under investigation”.

On Oct. 6, the Malay Rulers called on the government to complete the 1MDB investigations as soon as possible and to take “the appropriate stern action” against all found to be implicated.

The 1MDB CEO has shown utter disrespect and even contempt for the Malay Rulers when 1MDB came out with a statement yesterday saying that the Attorney-General’s explanation of why the firm was not charged emphasised the fact that it is no longer being investigated.

1MDB added that Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali’s press conference absolving 1MDB of breaching exchange laws compounds that of another enforcement agency that said it was not scrutinising the state-owned investment firm.

“This confirmation by the AGC reinforces the statement by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on 22 September 2015 that 1MDB is not under investigation,” it said. Continue reading “In just a week, the Malay Rulers’ concern about 1MDB has proved to be valid, legitimate and prescient, with all Najib Ministers competing in political “tai chi” and 1MDB CEO even claiming it is “no longer under investigation””

Posted on

Proper agenda for the first week of 2016 Budget Parliament beginning on Monday

Never before in Malaysia’s parliamentary democracy has so many issues compete and contend for attention in the first week of the forthcoming 2016 Budget Parliament beginning on Monday, 19th October 2015, whether the Malay Rulers’ Statement of Oct. 6; the political, economic, good governance and nation building scandals shaping up to be a “perfect storm” to batter Malaysia; the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) or the approval of toll rate hikes for 15 highways across the country.

Members of Parliament have not received the Parliamentary Order Paper for the first week or the first day of the 25-day Parliamentary meeting which is to be held from Oct. 19 to Dec. 3, but the following should be the proper agenda for the first week of Parliament from Monday.

For the first week of Parliament from Monday to Thursday, I have given notice to pose oral Parliamentary questions on the hot topics of the day, viz:

1) To ask the Prime Minister to state when and why the multi-agency Task Force on 1MDB was formed and dissolved, what it had achieved; and the reasons and scope of the new Task Force formed by new Attorney-General.

2) To ask the Prime Minister to state who had donated the RM2.6 billion deposited into his personal accounts in AmBank in March 2013; which Ministers and MPs had benefited from it; what is the balance and where are the monies. Continue reading “Proper agenda for the first week of 2016 Budget Parliament beginning on Monday”

Posted on

Cabinet must grapple with many issues tomorrow but the most important issue of all is for Najib to table a motion of confidence in Parliament on Monday to re-establish moral and political authority and legitimacy for him to continue as Prime Minister

The Cabinet must grapple with many issues tomorrow including:

*The Malay Rulers’ Statement of Oct. 6 expressing the Rulers’ concern about the state of the nation, with a multitude of national crises, whether politics, economics, good governance or nation-building as the Cabinet had failed to address Malay Rulers’ Oct. 6 Statement at its meeting last Wednesday;

*The twin mega scandals of the RM50 billion 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion “donation” in Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal banking accounts with the almost daily developments and revelations of these two mega scandals conspiring to put Malaysia continuously in the national and international spotlight as the classic example of a nation with great promise to be the showcase to the world of a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural nation which is also a great economic and political success but is now stumbling and on the verge of becoming a rogue and failed state.

*How to avert Malaysia from falling victim to a “Perfect Storm” with a conjunction of political, economic, good governance and nation-building crises, as evidenced on the economic front by the quadruple sharp fall in the value of the ringgit , the stock market, the international reserves and the exit of foreign capital; on the political front, the spectacle of the government and UMNO in serious fracture, fragmentation and disarray; on the good governance front with the Prime Minister backing out of officiating the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) hosted by the government in Putrajaya for fear of “hard questions” by the 1,000 delegates from 130 countries on Najib’s anti-corruption record; and on the nation-building front, the rearing of the ugly heads of the extremist and provocative politics of race and religion like the racist Sept. 16 Red Shirts rally in Kuala Lumpur. Continue reading “Cabinet must grapple with many issues tomorrow but the most important issue of all is for Najib to table a motion of confidence in Parliament on Monday to re-establish moral and political authority and legitimacy for him to continue as Prime Minister”

Posted on

Cabinet should decide whether to print at least one million copies of the Malay Rulers’ Oct. 6 Statement on 1MDB for mass dissemination to the public to end the confusion caused by conflicting statements by Ministers themselves and Malaysian leaders

Is the Oct. 6 Statement of the Malay Rulers so complex and complicated that it has spawned a thousand and one interpretations as to what it meant?

It has not escaped public notice that it has taken the UMNO/Barisan Nasional government more than 48 hours to craft its first official response, which was in the name of the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, which tried to dilute the meaning and impact of the Oct. 6 Statement by both welcoming it but at the same time dismissing it as redundant on the ground that the government had already taken pro-active measures to address the problems highlighted by the Oct. 6 Statement.

There was a flurry of varied and even conflicting Ministerial statements, with the Defence Minister and UMNO Vice President, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein decrying the interpretation that the Oct. 6 Malay Rulers’ Statement was tantamount to the Rulers’ no confidence in the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, when the focus was on 1MDB and not on Najib; the Communications and Multimedia Minister, Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak suggesting that the Malay Rulers should not be placed in the “political crossfire” as if the Oct. 6 Malay Rulers Statement was a single-issue statement on the 1MDB when it also dealt with other issues like national unity, proposing an end to race politics; and the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan who said that the Oct. 6 Malay Rulers’ Statement reflected the governent viewpoint all along!
Continue reading “Cabinet should decide whether to print at least one million copies of the Malay Rulers’ Oct. 6 Statement on 1MDB for mass dissemination to the public to end the confusion caused by conflicting statements by Ministers themselves and Malaysian leaders”

Posted on

Call on Information Department to print a million copies of the Rulers’ Statement on Oct. 6 on their concerns about 1MDB, rule of law and national unity for mass distribution to the public throughout the country

This is the fourth day of the Malay Rulers’ Statement of Tuesday, Oct. 4 expressing their concerns about three national issues causing the crisis of confidence battering Malaysia for the past several months – the 1MDB scandal, the rule of law and national unity in the country.

The UMNO/BN Government’s response to the Malay Rulers’ Statement has gone through various combinations and permutations in the past four days, viz:

*from the initial one of shock and attempt to minimise the adverse impact of the Malay Rulers’ Statement by virtually blacking out the statement in the UMNO-controlled media, printed and electronic;

*the daze-and-haze of the Cabinet at its Wednesday meeting where the Malay Rulers’ Statement was not discussed and no reciprocal action plan produced;

*the belated realisation that the Malay Rulers’ Statement was too potent to be ignored giving way to a campaign to defang its most biting and adverse effects;

*the first official response of the government by way of a statement by the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi more than 48 hours after the issue of the Malay Rulers’ Statement, stating on the one hand that the government viewed “positively” the Malay Rulers’ Statement while on the other dismissing the Rulers’ Statement by declaring that the government had already taken pro-active steps to address the issues raised by the Rulers;

*UMNO/BN cybertroopers using the social media to plant various versions to “defang” the adverse effects of the Malay Rulers’ Statement such as the message that Malay Rulelrs’ Statement was not directed solely at the Government but concerned all political parties and NGOs, to a revised strategy to suggest that the Statement was aimed at the Opposition and finally, postings to question the mala fide of the Malay Rulers by alleging that the Statement was solely the work of the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal without consultation with the Malay Rulers and was the handiwork of people associated with former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir.

The Ministers who have commented on the Malay Rulers’ Statement have also done themselves no favour. Continue reading “Call on Information Department to print a million copies of the Rulers’ Statement on Oct. 6 on their concerns about 1MDB, rule of law and national unity for mass distribution to the public throughout the country”

Posted on

Malaysia Central Bank Sought Criminal Proceeding Against 1MDB

by Tom Wright
Wall Stret Journal
Oct. 9, 2015

Malaysia’s central bank said it recommended the attorney general begin criminal proceedings against a troubled state investment fund for allegedly breaking foreign-exchange rules, but that the attorney general had declined to act on the matter.

Bank Negara Malaysia, in a statement Friday, said the fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd., had breached central bank rules that govern the movement of cash overseas for investment.

The 1MDB fund had given “inaccurate” information in seeking permission to invest a total of $1.83 billion abroad in three separate transactions, the statement said.

Bank Negara said it had granted permission based on the allegedly inaccurate information, but later had issued a direction to 1MDB to repatriate that amount. The bank said it had asked the attorney general in August to initiate criminal proceedings. Continue reading “Malaysia Central Bank Sought Criminal Proceeding Against 1MDB”

Posted on

Malaysia’s prime minister fights for his political life

Michael Peel, Bangkok regional correspondent
Financial Times
October 9, 2015

Najib Razak, Malaysia’s embattled prime minister, is fighting for his political life after open warfare broke out within the country’s state institutions over a corruption scandal that has engulfed him.

The central bank on Friday said it had urged the country’s attorney-general to begin criminal proceedings against the debt laden 1Malaysia Development Berhad investment fund, intensifying pressure on Mr Najib who chairs its advisory board.

The central bank’s intervention comes hard on the heels of an attack by a group of the country’s traditional rulers on the handling of the 1MDB case. The twin assaults will torpedo government efforts to crack down on the prime minister’s accusers, in a scandal that had already spawned investigations from the US to Hong Kong.

Mr Najib has been under intense pressure since it emerged in July that almost $700m allegedly linked to 1MDB was paid from overseas into a bank account in his name.

Both Mr Najib and 1MDB deny wrongdoing in an affair that is damaging confidence in an economy already weighed down by high consumer debt and the falling oil price. Mr Najib says the money paid to him came from an unnamed Middle Eastern donor. Continue reading “Malaysia’s prime minister fights for his political life”

Posted on

Zeti should be brutally honest on what ails Malaysia, says global financial mag

The Malaysian Insider
9 October 2015

Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz should be brutally honest about the issues plaguing the country, said Euromoney in its October edition, as the ringgit continues its freefall and the economy begins to stutter.

The business and finance magazine said all this while, Zeti had been using words like “domestic factors” to describe the problems besetting the country, instead of saying that the predicament lies with debt-laden state owned firm 1Malaysia Development Fund (1MDB) and the RM2.6 billion donation in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal accounts.

“Zeti has demonstrated through 15 matchless years of service that she is not one to pull her punches under political pressure.

“Now is not the time for her to start doing so. It would effectively mean that the BNM she tirelessly champions has not advanced at all.

“Zeti could go harder on what really ails the country. As Malaysia’s most trusted public official, she possesses something that the political class are in dire supply of – respect and moral authority,” the magazine said. Continue reading “Zeti should be brutally honest on what ails Malaysia, says global financial mag”

Posted on

Malaysia Arrests Another Critic of Prime Minister

By JAMES HOOKWAY And CELINE FERNANDEZ
Wall Street Journal
Oct. 8, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR—A prominent lawyer was arrested Thursday on charges of sabotage, his attorney said, after earlier planning to travel to the U.S. to help urge authorities there to investigate money transfers into Prime Minister Najib Razak’s alleged personal accounts.

The lawyer, Matthias Chang, was arrested after visiting a police lockup facility to see Khairuddin Abu Hassan, who was arrested and detained last month on the same charge. The two men had planned to fly together to the U.S., where Mr. Chang previously said Mr. Khairuddin aimed to try to persuade U.S. authorities to investigate transfers into Mr. Najib’s alleged accounts. Mr. Chang was acting as Mr. Khairuddin’s personal lawyer to make sure he complied with legal processes and laws oversees, Mr. Chang’s attorney Zainur Zakaria said.

Both men are being held under Malaysia’s sweeping Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act, which allows for them to be detained for 28 days, another lawyer acting for Mr. Chang said. Continue reading “Malaysia Arrests Another Critic of Prime Minister”

Posted on

Liong Sik has my grudging respect for standing his ground calling on Najib to resign and his readiness to face Najib in court

Former MCA President Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik has my grudging respect for standing his ground calling on Datuk Seri Najib Razak to resign as Prime Minister and his readiness to face Najib in court.

It is a pity however that he has been abandoned by the MCA leadership.

As the MCA annual general meeting is being held this weekend, the MCA delegates have an opportunity to decide whether to hew to the line laid down by the MCA leaders or to strike out with their heads high to give their former President their fullest support.

The important reason why MCA’s eminent position in the Barisan Nasional coalition government suffered when it was slashed from 31 MPs and 76 State Assembly representatives in 2004 GE to 7 MPs and 11 State Assembly representatives in the 2013 GE was because of the party’s failure to take a courageous and principled stand on the “Major Rights and Major Wrongs” in the country.

MCA would be repeating such a fatal mistake if it is not prepared to give full backing to its former President to stand up on the current “Major Rights and Major Wrongs” in the country – in particular over the twin mega scandals of the RM50 billion 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion “donation” in Najib’s personal banking accounts just before the 13th General Election. Continue reading “Liong Sik has my grudging respect for standing his ground calling on Najib to resign and his readiness to face Najib in court”

Posted on

Three new and important factors for UMNO/BN MPs to consider what stand they should take in any no-confidence motion against Najib as PM

The Ruler’s historic and unprecedented statement on 1MDB, the thunderous silence of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet to the Rulers’ Statement and
the clarification of the UMNO Vice President and Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein are three new and important factors for UMNO/BN Members of Parliament to consider as to what stand they should take in any no-confidence motion against Datuk Seri Najib Razak as Prime Minister.

The Rulers’ statement before the 239th Conference of Rulers on Tuesday, 6th October 2015 is historic because it represented a valiant attempt to save Malaysia from “sleepwalking” towards a rogue state with a breakdown of the rule of law and a failed state because of rampant corruption, abuses of power and collapse of good governance.

What the Rulers said were nothing new, but it had the effect of a thunderclap on the populace because simple truths had been forced underground, patriotic attempts to uphold democracy, justice, accountability, integrity and good governance had been distorted as treasonous efforts to undermine parliamentary democracy and sabotage the nation in cahoots with international conspirators; or simply, white has become black and black turned into white.

The Rulers’ statement is like a pail of cold water splashed on a populace which had been drugged either by power or the threat of the abuse of power and represents a final warning of the urgent need for the country to wake up and return to sanity to deal with three urgent problems plaguing Malaysia today – the 1MBD scandal, the parlous state of the rule of law and the frayed and fragile state of national unity in the country.

The Rulers’ statement is unprecedented both in import and content, which makes the silence of the Prime Minister and Cabinet which met for its weekly Wednesday session yesterday, all the more phenomenal, thunderous and unforgivable. Continue reading “Three new and important factors for UMNO/BN MPs to consider what stand they should take in any no-confidence motion against Najib as PM”