THE political parties named in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) civil forfeiture suit as being the recipients of RM270 million from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) said today that a court hearing is a chance for them to clear their names.

They declared they did not know the source of the money that they took from then prime minister Najib Razak before the 2013 general election

Wanita MCA and the MCA Pahang State Liaison Committee (SLC) which were both named as recipients of 1MDB funds said they welcomed the opportunity to clear their names in court.

“Both Wanita MCA and MCA Pahang SLC welcome this move as it will enable us to clear our names in court,” they said in a joint statement.

 “Wanita MCA and MCA Pahang SLC are seeking legal advice from our lawyers handling the matter to prove our innocence in the courts.”

In what is believed to be the biggest civil suit in Malaysian history, the MACC named 41 recipients in a suit that was filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Wednesday (June 19) under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.

Latheefa Koya, in her first press conference today as the newly minted MACC chief, said the money paid to the 41 recipients were 1MDB funds that had been deposited in Najib’s personal AmBank account.

Latheefa said of the RM270 million, RM212 million went to Umno.

Political parties in Sabah named in the suit said that they will render the MACC their full cooperation.

The Sabah Umno liaison committee, Sabah Liberal Democratic Party, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah and former land and cooperative development minister Kasitah Gaddam were those named in the suit.

Sabah Umno chief Bung Mokhtar Radin told The Malaysian Insight the state chapter will cooperate with the MACC on the case.

“Although I was not the liaison chief at the time, I believe the amount received by the committee was to the tune of a few million ringgit. But our (Umno’s) funds are already frozen,” he said when contacted today.

Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah president Joseph Kurup said the party will wait for the case to go to court before deciding on the course of action.

“We will for the courts and see what we can do. We will give our full cooperation to the MACC … at this point too premature to say anything,” he said.

Liberal Democratic Party chief Chin Su Phin said he only came to know of the civil forfeiture suit from news reports today. 

“I can only comment further on the matter once the relevant court documents have been served to us,” he said.

Kasitah could not be contacted for comment.

Sarawak United People’s Party, which is also on the list on recipients, said in a statement today that ”it will let the law takes its course”.

It said it hoped there would finally be closure.

SUPP is on MACC’s radar for a RM1 million donation it allegedly received from Najib in 2012 and 2013.

It was informed by the bank on June 26 last year that its main account was frozen on MACC’s orders.

Meanwhile, Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the suit was a “politically-motivated move to bring down Umno,”.

He told the Malay Mail today that the latest action is a political manoeuvre by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government which has failed to do a good job in running the country.

“The MACC’s civil forfeiture suit will paint a positive picture where the ruling government hopes to shore-up support to show that PH as a ruling coalition can perform better,” he said.

Also on the list is Rita Sim Sai Hoon, who is a witness in Najib’s ongoing trial in relation to theft of SRC International funds.

Rita, who was a director at the Centre for Strategic Engagement, was paid RM150,000 a month and RM300,000 in total (of SRC funds) by Najib to monitor six major local Chinese newspapers to identify issues affecting the Chinese community.

An interesting name on the list is Bustari Yusuf, called “The man who quietly guides Najib’s hand” in a Straits Times report two years ago.

In 2016, the Sarawak Report alleged that Bustari received RM1 million of1MDB funds from Najib.

The government has so far recovered RM919 million worth of assets linked to 1MDB since investigations began last year.

These include a settlement payment of US$60 million (RM250 million) from Hollywood production company Red Granite Pictures, and the US$140 million Park Lane Hotel in New York.

Red Granite Pictures produced the award-winning blockbuster The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

The swanky Park Lane Hotel in Manhattan is reported to be partly owned by Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, who is wanted by police for his alleged role in the defrauding of 1MDB.

Najib is standing trial for criminal breach of trust, money laundering and power abuse in connection with SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary.

The Pekan MP also faces more charges under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds from Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Amla), in connection with 1MDB funds amounting to RM2.28 billion. – June 21, 2019.