TONY Pua has hit out at Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Razali Ibrahim for calling for more patience over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad investigations, saying it is selective prosecution and double standards.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP said Putrajaya was treating the 1MDB scandal as a joke, adding that it was ridiculous to expect Malaysians to wait longer for an answer to a years-long case.

“Why is Malaysia the most ‘man man’ (‘slow’ in Mandarin) in the world when the rest of the world has been very ‘kuai kuai’ (fast) in prosecuting those who have been complicit in stealing billions of dollars from Malaysian taxpayers?” Pua said in a statement today.

Razali, on Tuesday in Parliament, had used Mandarin in urging for more patience over the 1MDB investigations.

“In Chinese, we say ‘man man lah, man man’ (slowly lah, slowly). We will wait for the (outcome of the) matter, which is under investigation by the relevant authorities. God willing, the truth will be revealed,” Razali had told the Dewan Rakyat.

Pua said the authorities would investigate at “lightning speed” if there were issues linked to the opposition or parties critical of the government.

“By comparison, the investigation into Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, which started with a report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on March 18 last year.

“Investigation papers were submitted to the attorney-general in May, and an arrest by MACC was made in June.

“It took MACC just two months to investigate and the A-G just one month to decide on prosecution, despite Lim having presented evidence to counter the charges against him.”

Pua said the relevant agencies should be just as independent and efficient when dealing with high-profile scandals as they had been in the case of Lim.

“Why don’t we see this level of efficiency when it comes to scandals involving tens of billions of ringgit, which implicate even the prime minister and his family?

“Dismissive comments, such as those in the deputy minister’s speech, prove just how little the government cares about upholding justice and protecting the interests of ordinary Malaysians.

“With billions in Malaysian public funds gone and allegedly used to fund the lavish lifestyles of others, we need to ask who the government is really defending.” – November 16, 2017.