BILLION Dollar Whale, a book chronicling the alleged siphoning off US$4.5 billion of public funds, holds lessons on governance for future generations, said former international trade and industry minister Rafidah Aziz. 

Rafidah, a former Umno stalwart, spoke of past leaders who lived to pursue positions and urged the new government to take heed from the book.

“Every page, there is a lesson to be learned. This saga, which has sub-plots and sub-plots, teaches us lessons, not just to Malaysia but the world at large, that we cannot allow greed and avarice to take control,” she told guests at the book launch by co-author Tom Wright in Kuala Lumpur today. 

“Another lesson is about holding the people’s trust in you. You have to hold very strongly, the people’s trust in you. 

“There are leaders who are all about getting posts but hardly show leadership qualities as desired by the citizens. 

“You must govern well, you cannot allow the compass of governance to go astray.”

Rafidah said government officials should take the book to heart: “Some people think being up there is being a leader.

“No, it’s about your attitude and making responsible decisions. That is what it is about and it is the hardest thing to find in the world today.”

Rafidah spoke of her two decades in the cabinet, where she said she had worked hard to get investors to get to know the “positive side” of Malaysia.

“I promoted locations as hubs for doing business in this region. It took only this scandal to wipe out all that image. 

“When I read some parts (of the book), I found it to be too atrocious to be true.”

Rafidah said she hoped films would also be made out of the scandal. 

“The story has not ended yet. We await the ending of this story where justice prevails.”

Meanwhile, Wright said he and co-author Bradley Hope had to alter the book’s ending, saying they had expected Najib Razak to remain in power. 

The book’s central figure, Penang-born businessman Low Taek Jho, remains at large in China, Wright said. – September 25, 2018.