OPPOSITION lawmakers and analysts have slammed Prime Minister Najib Razak for his blog posting that funds from 1MDB would resolve issues from the “lopsided power agreements” signed by a previous administration.

Najib was also criticised for saying that 1Malaysia Development Berhad will be profitable through its Bandar Malaysia project, an urban development project in Kuala Lumpur. 

They further charge that 1MDB has been publicly exposed as fraudulent and that no amount of rationalising by Najib would change people’s minds regarding the scale of its losses and debts, now said to exceed RM42 billion.

“What he said were half-truths. Yes, the power agreements were one-sided, but 1MDB had nothing to do with it. 1MDB was supposed to be a wealth fund,” said James Chin, executive director of Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania.

Najib’s comments are likely a dig at the previous administration under Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who now chairs the opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan.

Regarding the losses, Najib in his blog post yesterday said when the Bandar Malaysia project agreement is signed, “you can expect 1MDB to make a decent profit that will more than recover its losses”.

Chin said: “Yes, but if there was no scam in the first place, all profits from Bandar Malaysia would benefit the country.

“The truth is nobody in Malaysia believes in the government’s ability to rescue 1MDB. Most people think 1MDB was a scam exposed by the opposition simply because the amount was too large. If it was a smaller scam, it might not attract so much attention.

“Malaysians know there is corruption and they accept it as part of the Barisan Nasional government.

“But 1MDB broke the mould because the amount was too large and too blatant, such as money going into the personal account of Malaysian Official No. 1,” said Chin, referring to the designation by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) of a high-ranking public official who was a beneficiary of massive amounts allegedly siphoned off 1MDB.

Last September, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Rahman Dahlan told the BBC in an interview that MO1 was Najib.

Najib has consistently denied any wrongdoing. In his blog post yesterday, Najib said revenue from the goods and services tax (GST) was not used to pay off 1MDB debts.

“When 1MDB entered the industry, it was the lowest bidder in all its agreements, saving Malaysia RM200 billion over the next 20 years,” Najib said, adding that a “previous leader” had signed on to loss-making power agreements. 

Mohamad Hisomuddin Bakar, the executive director of Ilham Centre, said blaming past leaders does not look good for Najib.

“Furthermore, Najib was also part of the cabinet (of previous administrations), which was supposed to advise the government on taking appropriate actions. Detaching oneself from a collective decision shows irresponsibility.

“What the people value right now are what steps Najib would take and the initiatives to boost the economy. And with the biggest scandal that is 1MDB, it’s destroyed the economic accomplishments of past leaderships.”

Najib also said 1MDB played a role in improving eight military bases and had funded thousands of scholarships and haj trips for pilgrims.

Hisomuddin said Najib needs to come up with “extraordinary ideas” to repair the damage.

“But what the people feel is the opposite. To blame whatever the previous leaders have done is a political excuse that many people cannot accept.”

Cynthia Gabriel, a human rights advocate, said to clear his name, Najib must allow parliamentary questions to be answered and to declassify the audit report under the Official Secrets Act. 

“Allow the mutual legal assistance to the US, Singapore and Switzerland which are carrying out investigations into misappropriation of funds.

“Help facilitate return of frozen assets to prove that what he said is correct,” said the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) executive director.

“If you don’t do all this Mr Prime Minister, then we take this as a nonsense explanation.”

1MDB, via its subsidiary Edra, acquired power plants in Malaysia, Egypt, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh between 2012 and 2013, which reportedly cost about RM12 billion.

After a lukewarm response to its IPO (initial public offering) in 2015, Edra was sold off to the China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGN Group) for RM9.83 billion.

“There are obviously large portions of the fund, perhaps a big quantum, that have been misused and that have to be answered for and made accountable,” said Sarawak DAP lawmaker Julian Tan. 

“They have still not answered the allegation by the DoJ. As the government, they have to answer questions.

“And it is our duty to raise them. Mind you, it is not a small amount we’re talking about.”

Tan said the prime minister should instead address the people in this Parliament session on 1MDB. 

“Just because the funds from 1MDB have been used for good causes, it does not justify the billions of ringgit from the fund which have been misused, going by the allegations from the DoJ.”

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua describe the prime minister’s comments as “complete and utter fake news”.

“How did US$732 million end up in Najib’s personal bank accounts – an allegation not denied to date,” said the Petaling Jaya Utara MP.

“And how did this sum solve the issues created by the ‘previous leader’?”

PKR’s Padang Serai MP N. Surendran called Najib’s comment shameful.

“1MDB is an international embarrassment and the biggest financial scandal since our independence. That the prime minister can take pride in 1MDB and claim it as a success is beyond comprehension.”

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar said Najib’s comments exposed an autocratic system that needs to be reformed. – October 25, 2017.