Tag: 1MDB

Leaked Classified Documents: PDRM Don’t Rule Our Possibility Of Conspiracy To Topple Najib Razak

KUALA LUMPUR — Police have not eliminated the possibility of a conspiracy to subvert Malaysia’s democratic process and topple the Prime Minister over the criminal act of leaking classified documents to foreign nationals.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said these criminal acts were very serious and raised national security implications.

He said the Attorney-General had instructed a full investigation to be carried out on the leaking classified documents, where these materials were alleged to be from an unnamed Malaysian government investigation into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

“In addition, the Royal Malaysia Police have also received police reports related to this matter. We are therefore duty bound to conduct a full and independent investigation,” he said in a statement here today.

He said the investigation would include investigating all members of the Special Task Force, who included Bank Negara personnel, to uphold the integrity of the inquiry and trust in Malaysia’s financial system.

“The leakage of information, whether the documents have been doctored or otherwise, could trigger offences under the Financial Services Act 2013 (Sections 133, 248, 249 and 250), the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 (Section 145), the Official Secret Acts 1972 (Sections 3, 4, 7A, 7B, 8, 11 and 14), the Penal Code involving sections under Chapter XL for false and fabricated evidence and criminal defamation in Sections 499 to 502 and could constitute economic sabotage against Malaysia.

“Anyone found guilty of leaking or doctoring the said documents will face the full force of law,” he added.

Khalid said the objective of the police investigation was to identify those who had leaked the material, and determine whether these documents were genuine or had been doctored, as in the case of Xavier Justo, the former PetroSaudi International (PSI) executive who was being investigated by the Thai authorities for blackmail and extortion.

The Thai police were reported to have detained Justo last June 24 for allegedly attempting to blackmail PSI, an international company based in Saudi Arabia which had drawn attention in Malaysia as it had established ties with 1MDB.

Source: www.malaysiandigest.com

July 14, 2015
Dr Mahathir: Yes I’m Behind ‘Crisis’ But Najib Can End It By Resigning

KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 — Undeterred by Datuk Seri Najib Razak blaming him for creating the current 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) “crisis”, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad lobbed the ball back in the former’s court by accepting the blame.

But Dr Mahathir also offered Najib a solution to end the “crisis”, saying the best option would be for the latter to resign as prime minister and return only when 1MDB is thoroughly investigated and cleared of any wrong.

Dr Mahathir added that although he admits to being the person behind the “crisis”, it was Najib who had caused it by “borrowing huge sums of money and losing billions of ringgit”.

“I will admit that I am behind the ‘crisis’. I am behind it because there is a climate of fear in this country.

“Lots of people know about the loss of billions of ringgit by 1MDB. These people are in a position to know because they have seen evidence of this loss.

“But they are afraid because of actions which the government can take against them. They may lose their jobs, or contracts or expectations of titles etc,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his latest blog post today.

He said these critics of 1MDB approached him for help but he desisted for a long time, knowing full well that any move on his part to reveal the alleged misdeeds of 1MDB would eventually lead to Najib being questioned.

Dr Mahathir said he first tried to resolve the matter quietly by telling him in private that he no longer supports his leadership.

“But there was no result,” he claimed. “So I had to go public. Najib has destroyed Umno and BN.

“I know he would lose the next election. And then the whole country will see turmoil as no party, would have the majority to run the country,” he said.

“So I decided to expose the wrong-doings of 1MDB of which the Prime Minister is effectively the head.

“Is there a crisis? There is. It is caused by the Prime Minister creating 1MDB borrowing huge sums of money and losing billions of Ringgit,” Dr Mahathir added.

He urged Najib to step down to allow a full investigation on 1MDB’s reported RM42 billion debt pile, insisting that with the prime minister still in power, the probe would not be carried out thoroughly.

“If no crimes can be detected and all the money is returned, Najib can come back as Prime Minister and lead BN in the next election,” Dr Mahathir said.

He said by accusing him of starting the so-called crisis, Najib was as good as saying the alleged disappearance of billions of ringgit should be accepted and ignored as though no wrong had been committed.

But from the public’s interest in the controversy, Dr Mahathir said the matter cannot be ignored and those guilty of any wrongdoing must be brought to book.

“A crisis may be the result but should we allow thieves to steal billions of ringgit in order to avoid a crisis,” he said.

On his blog on Monday, Najib accused Dr Mahathir of causing the “mess” in the country that he now has to bear the brunt of the blame for, amid the ongoing controversy surrounding 1MDB.

Najib also said in the Frequently Asked Questions section on his blog that the former prime minister did not have to face endless allegations during his time in office, from 1981 to 2003, as social media was not developed then.

“The ‘mess’ that Tun refers to, is largely of his own making as a result of his attacks and his echoing of Opposition lies and slander,” Najib wrote.

Dr Mahathir has been calling openly for Najib’s resignation, citing the controversy surrounding 1MDB that is currently being investigated by the Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee.

Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

July 10, 2015
Najib Razak: Instigators, Slanderers, Not Promised Heaven

KUALA LUMPUR — In a thinly-veiled reference to critics, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told Malaysian Muslims today (July 2) that instigators and slanderers will not be guaranteed a spot in heaven no matter how pious they may be.

“Even if you never miss your prayers, but you are an instigator, slanderous, inciteful and cause disunity, you will not be guaranteed heaven,” Mr Najib said, citing a hadith, or prophetic tradition, that promised heaven to those who can respect each other. He was speaking at a charity event today.

“And carrying a big badge on your chest will also not guarantee you paradise,” Mr Najib added smilingly, a statement seemingly made against his political foes.

Mr Najib has come under pressure in recent months, with former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad actively campaigning for his resignation.

Dr Mahathir has claimed that Barisan Nasional, the ruling coalition, would lose the next general elections if Mr Najib remains its leader.

Dr Mahathir has also repeatedly criticised Mr Najib’s handling of the state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), especially over its reported RM42 billion (S$15 billion) debt. Mr Najib, who is also Finance Minister, is chairman of the firm’s advisory board.

Dr Mahathir has called Mr Najib’s handling of the 1MDB issue “verging on criminal” during an interview with the New York Times that was published in mid-June and at a forum last month,

Dr Mahathir called for the people to “acknowledge the crime that is happening here”.

1MDB is currently being investigated by the Auditor-General and the bipartisan parliamentary Public Accounts Committee over its dealings.

Mr Najib has steadfastly refused to resign and accused Dr Mahathir of making “insinuations, speaking half-truths, cracking misleading jokes and twisting statements to make his views exciting and palatable”, he wrote in a blog post dated June 12.

“It is a shame that Dr Mahathir has, yet again, turned against the leadership of his own party. These public attacks will only harm UMNO, the government and ultimately Malaysia.

“This unbecoming behaviour will be an unfortunate postscript to his legacy,” Mr Najib wrote, referring to the United Malays National Organisation.

Source: www.todayonline.com

July 3, 2015
Dr Mahathir: Under PM Najib, Malaysian Malays Could Suffer Safe Fate As Singapore Malays,

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 — After predicting the fall of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government under Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is now claiming that if the prime minister stays in power, the Malays here could become marginalised like their Singaporean brethren.

In a video of a Wednesday forum released online today by blogger Din Turtle, Dr Mahathir was seen reminding his audience that the struggle for the country is not for the personal goals of one man but for the survival of the nation, its race and its religion.

“I think we are smart people. Do we want to protect Najib? Or do we want to protect the Malays and the country?

“This is what we have to ask ourselves,” he said in his speech during the forum with several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at the Perdana Foundation.

Dr Mahathir cited again the example of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy, his biggest pet peeve of the Najib government, and said that he found it difficult to imagine how the firm had racked up a RM42 billion debt.

“Its hard to even imagine RM1 billion… even RM1 million, some Malays don’t recognise… this is RM42 billion,” he said.

“But if we don’t acknowledge the crime that is happening here, there is a high likelihood that we will lose and we will be divided… And we will suffer the fate of the Malays in Singapore, in southern Thailand and other places.

“Now we are thankful because we are still in power but if Najib leads the country, we will lose that power in our hands and at that point, there won’t be anyone there to offer us protection,” he said.

Dr Mahathir has been at the forefront of attacks against the Najib administration and has been actively campaigning for the prime minister’s resignation, believing the latter will lead BN to doom in the next federal polls.

Among others, Dr Mahathir has attacked Najib over his handling of the controversy surrounding 1MDB, the troubled state-owned firm that has racked up a debt of RM42 billion since its inception in 2009.

Najib, however, has refused to step down and has responded to Dr Mahathir’s accusations – several times via his blog and once through a pre-recorded interview on TV3.

Dr Mahathir, however, has refused to relent.

In his speech at the forum, the outspoken 89-year-old told Najib: “I am aware… I am old. And Najib said why listen to one man when the entire country supports him (Najib)… so why listen to one man?

“I don’t know if I am one man or I am many. But I request that if we want to save ourselves, we must show the strength of numbers… that is very important.

“We have to remind everyone that our struggle is not or one man alone. It is for our country, our race, our religion and that is our struggle.”

Despite Dr Mahathir’s persistence, Najib has fought hard to resist the former’s calls for his resignation, repeatedly responding by saying that he has the support of the leadership in Umno, the country’s ruling party and BN lynchpin.

In his latest blog post on June 12, Najib fired back at Dr Mahathir, accusing him of using the 1MDB controversy as a ploy to attack him.

Najib pointed out that if the former prime minister was genuinely interested in getting answers, he only needed to wait for the conclusion of the various investigations by the Auditor-General, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Bank Negara on 1MDB.

Source:www.themalaymailonline.com

June 22, 2015
Malaysia’s 2nd Finance Minister: Resolve 1MDB Debt, Otherwise Malaysians Suffer

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — Malaysia must resolve 1Malaysia Development’s (1MDB) debt issue or risk a negative chain of events, including a possible downgrade to the country’s credit outlook or a plunge in value of the ringgit, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah warned today.

Explaining this, the second finance minister said if Putrajaya is forced to shoulder the 1MDB debt of RM42 billion on top of its development expenditure of RM52 billion for next year, it would cause the government to fail to meet its targeted Budget 2015 deficit of 3.2 per cent and revert to over 4 per cent instead, he said.

“What will happen? Our ratings will drop, when our ratings drop, our companies borrow from abroad, our currency value will drop like in 1998 then, when our ringgit at one point was over RM4, how to pay debts?

“In our context, the main thing is we must solve the issue of debt so the people do not have to worry,” he said in a live interview broadcasted by national television channel TV1.

During the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, the Malaysian currency dipped in value and at one point went over the RM4 mark in exchange rates against the US dollar.

In March, Putrajaya said it is accountable for a US$3 billion (RM11.1 billion) loan secured by a 1MDB subsidiary using a letter of support from the Malaysian government.

Last month, Moody’s Investors Services said government support of 1MDB could jeopardise Malaysia’s sovereign credit rating.

Today, Husni also insisted that the rationalisation of 1MDB’s assets is not meant to “save” it or the government, but is instead a “restructuring” exercise with the aim of paring down its debt.

He also said his key concern was Malaysians, citing the chain of negative effects that would happen if 1MDB’s debt had to be passed on to the government.

But Husni also stressed in the same interview that no money has yet been lost by 1MDB, pointing out that the banking sector would otherwise be the first to chase the firm for the money it borrowed in a bid to avoid a high level of non-performing loans.

“If the financial sector is quiet until now, that means the issue of money lost is not there,” he said.

When speaking on the passing of 1MDB accounts from audit firm KPMG to Deloitte, he said many firms will review if they should continue using an auditor’s services after three years.

Husni noted that 1MDB had decided to follow international standards in switching from a Big Four audit firm to the world’s top audit firm.

On the alleged involvement of billionaire businessman Low Taek Jho in 1MDB’s deals, Husni dismissed the claims, saying the issue does not even arise.

In March, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak ordered the Auditor General and Public Accounts Committee to investigate 1MDB.

1MDB was incorporated in 2009, after the prime minister announced the decision to turn the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) state fund into a federal agency.

Since then, 1MDB has been dogged by negative publicity over its finances and debt, and most recently cash flow problems that saw it struggle to meet a RM2 billion loan payment.

Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

June 4, 2015