Silly, irresponsible of Najib to play down 1MDB issue, says anti-graft body

Muzliza Mustafa Muzliza Mustafa Updated 8 years ago · Published on 12 Mar 2018 8:02PM · 8 Comments

Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism executive director Cynthia Gabriel says the prime minister should not try and bury the 1MDB issue, only to have it keep popping up for the rest of the world to read about in international media outlets. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Kamal Ariffin, March 12, 2018.

TRIVIALISING the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal is silly and irresponsible, said an anti-graft body, after Najib Razak compared the issue with the Selangor water crisis in Parliament today.

Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) director Cynthia Gabriel said the prime minister must answer questions on 1MDB if he wants a fresh mandate in the 14th general election.

“It really is quite a silly, if not a terribly irresponsible, statement by the prime minister. The water issue is about the disruption of essential service delivery, and 1MDB is about RM50 billion that got lost through bad deals and outright thievery.”

Najib today refused to answer a question in Parliament on the effects of 1MDB’s debts on the economy.

Instead, the prime minister, who also holds the post of finance minister, spoke about the water disruption that recently hit the Klang Valley.

Mohamed Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) asked Najib to explain whether 1MDB’s debts had led to an increase in Malaysia’s interest payments, which, as of 2016, amounted to 12.5% of the country’s income.

Najib said: “The Selangor water crisis is more critical.”

Gabriel said the prime minister should not try and bury the 1MDB issue, only to have it keep popping up for the rest of the world to read about in international media outlets.

“I hope Malaysians can see the scale of 1MDB’s grand corruption and take the PM to task. I suspect that more mischievous stunts will be pulled as the elections draw nearer.”

She said threatening the foreign media over 1MDB and dubbing their reporting on the troubled state investor as “fake news” reflect badly on Najib’s leadership.

Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Jailani Johari yesterday warned the foreign media to stop putting out fake news on 1MDB, which has been mired in scandal over its debts and alleged leakages.

Jailani said the ministry has identified news portals that are trying to revive the 1MDB issue, following the seizure of luxury yacht Equanimity.

He said the portals are The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist, Australian Broadcasting Corporation and MSNBC.

Bersih 2.0 steering committee member Jay Jay Denis said Najib should have taken Azmin’s question seriously.

“He cannot tell the people in Pahang or Johor that a water crisis in Selangor is more important than 1MDB. He is supposed to be a PM for all Malaysians, not turn Parliament into his political playground.”

He said Najib, as the finance minister, should answer questions on the country’s debts, including 1MDB.

“If he cannot answer, who else will?”

As GE14 looms, the 1MDB scandal is becoming the talk of the town once more following the seizure of the Equanimity, said to have been purchased using funds misappropriated from the state investor.

The yacht was seized two weeks go in Bali by Indonesian authorities.

The seizure was part of the US Department of Justice’s recovery of assets obtained or purchased using money allegedly embezzled from 1MDB. – March 12, 2018.

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Comments

  • Asshole pm

    Posted 8 years ago by Leslie Chan · Reply

  • Its a lot worst than silly ITS SPOILT BRAT. All his over-privelleged and over-entitled life comes shining through.

    Posted 8 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply

  • Its all the Quinoa eating..

    Posted 8 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply

  • It is possible that only the A-G, among IGP, MACC & Bank Negara, knows enough of what really transpired so as to be able to exonerate the PM & clear him of wrongdoing in 1MDB. If what I say is true then it probably means that the rest of us and the world are really in the dark about 1MDB, notwithstanding the various asset seizures by DoJ purportedly linked to it, & the involvement of the other few countries. This being so the DoJ has not been able thus far to file criminal proceedings against any perpetrator owing to a break in the chain of available evidence. TQ

    Posted 8 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply

    • are your parents brother and sister? the investigation is so clearly cooked, open ur eyes and look at facts and not what the crooked media and crooked BN feed you, srsly. daft comment.

      Posted 8 years ago by Tommy richard · Reply

  • Only way to clear up 1MDB mess is vote Najib and BN out of putrajaya. Let PH and Mahathir go in and dig out all the secret and don’t be surprise, could find out more conspiracies than you know of.

    Posted 8 years ago by Francis Wong · Reply

  • Looking from the view of self preservation, playing down the issue of 1MDB is the smart and responsible thing for najib to do.

    It is the smart and responsible thing for najib to do, becuase paying attention to matters concerning 1MDB will lead to his self annihilation .

    Self preservation is an important virtue amongst malaysians. By paying attention to his self preservation , najib is simply fhonouring a much cherished Malaysian value . Cari makan bang...

    Posted 8 years ago by Nehru Sathiamoorthy · Reply

  • Playing down the accusation when someone is charged for a guilt? To use the word "silly" is being polite. The more straight forward way to put it is "guilty as charged".

    Posted 8 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply