The new AG must explain why the newly renamed taskforce will not be investigating 1MDB or its related companies

The new Attorney-General (AG), Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali announced yesterday that the National Revenue Recovery Enforcement Team (NRRET) is basically the new name for the previous special task force which was thought to be disbanded after the former Attorney General, Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Patail was sacked.

"NRRET is not a new task force but is a rebranding of the previous special task force that has been in existence since 2011," the AG Chambers said in a statement.

However, what was shocking in the statement was the announcement that the "NRRET is not in any way involved with any investigations involving 1MDB and its related companies."

This is despite the AGC saying that the "aims of NRRET remain the same, which is to assist the government in dealing with evasion of custom duties and tax by individuals and corporate bodies, smuggling activities, misuse of subsidised goods, illegal outflow of funds, and acts of corruption".

Malaysians deserves the right to know why the investigations on 1MDB and its related companies which were carried out by the task force is stopped.

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As we approach our 59th Merdeka Day and 53rd Malaysia Day celebrations, have we become a nation where Malaysians no longer decide our own destiny?

On 31 August 1957, the Federation of Malaya declared our independence from our foreign colonial power and on 16 September 1963, we formed Malaysia with our counterparts from Sabah and Sarawak.  Malaysians stood proud to be a new sovereign nation where her citizens are able to chart their own goals, dreams and destinies.

However, Malaysia’s independence is now under threat and her citizens face the risk of a newfound imperialism by a unknown Arab power.  In the past, the people of Malaya and Borneo were kept under a leash via a military force.  Today, Malaysia’s vision and policies are influenced by obscene amounts of foreign money funding our ruling political party.

Senior UMNO leader and Minister Dato’ Seri Nazri Aziz found “nothing wrong” that the Prime Minister personally accepted a secret RM2.6 billion donation in the latter’s private bank account from a “brotherly” Arab nation.

He shamelessly admitted that the so-called ‘donation’ was “to see certain parties win in the general election because we are friendly to them”.

The above confirmed without a doubt that Malaysia’s sovereign status is under threat by the fact that our ruling party and its leaders have become compromised by secret foreign funds.  The marginal victory Barisan Nasional received in 2013 proved further that a foreign country has directly and decisively determined the outcome of our country’s election.

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Rahman Dahlan bonkers to compare the RM2.6 billion deposit into the PM's personal bank account to Selangor’s set up of DEIG

Yesterday, it was reported Dato’ Abdul Rahman Dahlan claimed that Selangor’s controversial new investment arm, Darul Ehsan Investment Group (DEIG), is more disturbing than the RM2.6 billion donation to Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak personal bank account.

He said there was “more at stake with the RM30 billion in assets” under Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI), planned for a takeover by DEIG, than the RM2.6 billion donation.

I believe that Dato’ Rahman Dahlan must have gone completely bonkers after multiple vain attempts to defend the Prime Minister’s most immoral and unethical “donation”.

Firstly, the Minister can’t even get his simple facts right.  Upon consolidation of the state-owned assets under DEIG, it would not add up to RM30 billion – we wish it did – but to RM6.3 billion.

However, the point as admitted by the BN Strategic Communications Director himself, Dato’ Abdul Rahman Dahlan, is that these are “assets” of the state, as opposed to a mysterious RM2.6 billion foreign donation into the personal account of the Prime Minister for completely unknown expenditures.

As a matter of fact, how can this RM6.2 billion of “assets” even be deemed “more disturbing” than the Federal Government’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) which has accumulated RM42 billion of “debt” as at 2014?

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If ‘not a single sen’ of KWAP funds went into Najib’s account, why is the MACC investigating SRC International?

The new Deputy Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi, claimed that not a single sen of the US$700 million transferred to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's accounts came from government pension fund, Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP).

He said the money came from just one Middle Eastern donor, and that they were channelled‎ through multiple companies to avoid detection. "No KWAP money was used by Umno or deposited into Najib's accounts. I saw the documents," ‎said Zahid when officiating the Sri Gading Umno division meeting yesterday.

If Dato’ Seri Zahid is so certain that none of the monies deposited into the Prime Minsiter’s account came from SRC International, which took a RM4 billion loan from KWAP, why didn’t Dato’ Seri Najib Razak sue both The Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report for defamation?

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Consumed By The Laws of the Jungle

Once again, 1MDB’s “rehashed” and “recycled answers” failed to answer the simple questions posed by allegedly “unproven” recycled questions.

I appreciate 1Malaysia Development Bhd President, Arul Kanda’s recognition that “public scrutiny and questioning by YB Tony Pua is important to establish the truth”.

However, he once again claimed that I have made “repeatedly unproven, recycled and reused allegations”. While I have made many allegations against 1MDB previously, the current matter being raised isn’t an allegation but a repeated request for clarification which 1MDB has failed to provide.

The latest response by 1MDB yesterday is the best testament that Arul Kanda makes a habit of repeating recycled and reused “clarifications” which never answered the questions posed. Worse, it is a less-than-disguised attempt to obfuscate the facts.

I had very simply asked, what has become of the supposed US$1.1 billion which was “redeemed” from Cayman Islands as announced by Arul Kanda himself on 13 January 2015? Since it is not “cash” as originally claimed, Malaysians are interested to know what are these so called “units” which is held in a Singapore bank, and what are the bank assessed value of these “units” post-redemption.

The response we received from 1MDB instead was “1MDB invested a total of US$1.83 billion with PetroSaudi as murabaha notes, and ultimately received US$2.318 billion of fund units, representing a gain over time of US$488 million.”

Arul Kanda further added that “the valuation of the fund units was undertaken by the fund administrator and is clearly described in 1MDB’s audited financial statements.”

The 1MDB President however, cleverly failed to highlight (again) the fact that the last financial statements was for the year ending 31 March 2014. That is nearly 17 months ago and well before the Cayman Islands investment was supposedly redeemed in January this year.

Is Arul Kanda trying to tell Malaysians that he has no clue what the redeemed “units” held in BSI Bank Singapore are really worth today? Is that also the reason why the “units” cannot be disposed or liquidated despite being classified as “investment assets for sale” in the 1MDB financial statements?

Is that the reason why the Malaysian government has been forced to grant 1MDB with RM950 million of emergency loans, as well as billions of ringgit of direct and indirect guarantees for additional loans and advances this year?

The above question isn’t of course the only question that the 1MDB President is unwilling to answer honestly. Many transactions took place after the 31 March 2014 financial year end. However, 1MDB has refused to provide any “open book” disclosures on these transactions. They include simple information like what is the latest outstanding debt in 1MDB?

More pertinent but unanswered questions are like how much as 1MDB paid to Aabar Investments PJS or International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) to buy back the options which were granted to them? These options were granted as part of the agreement for the latter to guarantee 1MDB’s US$3.5 billion of loans in 2012. Is it true for example that US$481 million is still outstanding payable to IPIC as disclosed by the latter’s financial statements as at 31 December 2014?

Therefore while Arul Kanda describes such “monkey business” by me does not benefit anyone as “Malaysia is not a jungle”, I certainly beg to differ.

With the Public Accounts Committee crippled and no commitment given Dato’ Seri Najib Razak on the time frame to reconstitute the PAC; with the previous Attorney General sacked for attempting to charge the Prime Minister for corruption as alleged by the BN Strategic Communications Director, Dato’ Seri Rahman Dahlan; with the Special Taskforce investigating 1MDB dismantled; with dissenting Ministers removed from the Cabinet; Malaysians certainly cannot be blamed for concluding that we have been consumed by the laws of the jungle.

If I don’t remain the persistently pesky monkey on 1MDB’s back, then 1MDB will be able to get away with providing evasive non-answers, pretending that everything is dandy and above board without any accountability.

At the same time, Arul Kanda must not forget that he is an employee of a wholly-owned government subsidiary and must be transparent and accountable to the Malaysian tax-payers. He continued failure to do so will not only cast himself in poor light, he will damage the reputation of the Prime Minister and destroy the image of Malaysia to the global financial and investment community.

Tony Pua

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From Political Donation, to Brotherly Appreciation, and now a Migration to Singapore !

Dato’ Seri Najib Razak must confirm if he has indeed transferred US$650 million from his personal account to an account in Singapore.

The Wall Street Journal had exposed just a little more than a month ago that the Prime Minister has received US$681 million of cash into his personal bank account in March 2013.

Dato’ Seri Najib Razak had persistent refused to confirm or deny such a transaction having took place for nearly a month. He would only repeatedly insist that he “did not not use any money for personal gains” while pro-Najib blogs defended him as not being so stupid as to take RM2.6 billion into his personal account.

However, as it turned out, despite Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s silence on the matter, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) confirmed the transaction on his behalf. Apparently, the MACC was informed that the money was donated by a Middle Eastern government and wanted to question the Prime Minister further on the “donation”.

In a spur of a moment, all top UMNO leaders came out all guns blazing to justify the legitimacy of the massive “donation”. Dato’ Seri Nazri Aziz was most by direct by claiming that the “donation” came from a “brotherly” Arab nation who wanted certain parties to win the the Malaysian general election in 2013.

Both BN’s Strategic Communications Director, Dato’ Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan and UMNO Secretary-General Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor argued that UMNO party presidents are allowed to hold funds “in trust” for the Party. This was despite the fact that even the Deputy UMNO President, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is completely unaware of the existence of such a “trust” fund.

The Prime Minister himself, two days ago defended the “donation” by claiming that “there is no regulation in respect to political donation. So you cannot say what is right and what is wrong, okay?”

Yesterday, Kuantan Umno division chief Wan Adnan Wan Mamat revealed to Sinar Harian that during a meeting of 146 divisional leaders with Dato’ Seri Najib last Wednesday, they were informed that “it was an appreciation to Malaysia for championing Islam and for practising Sunni Islam (Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah).”

It obviously did not occur to them that such an “appreciation” for Malaysia, if ever it was true, should be transferred into the Government’s accounts, and not the private bank account of the Prime Minister.

However, as the story gets richer and more colourful, the Sarawak Report once again threw a spanner into the Prime Minister’s best-laid plans by exposing the fact that US$650 million was actually transferred back to Tanore Finance, owned by Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) in August 2013, when Dato’ Seri Najib Razak closed his bank account in Ambank Bhd.

So now, Malaysians are left stunned as to whether the US$681 million deposited into Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s account was really a “donation”. If the money does indeed belong to UMNO, why did US$650 million get transferred to Singapore?
Are UMNO leaders now going to claim that it is normal for UMNO to hide billions of ringgit of donations in an overseas account?

Or is Dato’ Seri Najib Razak now going to cook up a new excuse to claim that the Middle East donors decided that they didn’t want to donate to him anymore and wanted their money back?

Or perhaps the Prime Minister after being caught with his pants down, would now argue that 5 months after receiving the cash, he suffered from sudden pangs of guilt and decided to voluntarily return the money to the donor?

Dato’ Seri Najib Razak must stop making up stories along with the exposes which get published in foreign media. He should stop the lies and half-truths, and for once be honest and forthcoming with truthful complete answers over his RM2.6 billion scandal. He must explain where did this US$681 million really come from, and if US$650 million did indeed get transferred out of his account, as alleged by the Sarawak Report.

If not, the Prime Minister will go down in history as the dirtiest, most dishonest and tainted premier in the history of Malaysia.


Tony Pua

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Arul, Must We Wait Until The Moon Falls Onto Our Laps?

It is not enough for Arul Kanda to apologise for incredulously mistaking “units” for “cash”, the 1MDB President must explain what exactly are these “units” and how much are they worth according to the Bank.

Scandal-tainted 1Malaysia Development Bhd issued a statement yesterday to rebut my request for an explanation on the US$1.103 billion redeemed from Cayman Islands in January 2015. 1MDB said that 1MDB President, Arul Kanda “has on June 10 already taken full responsibility for any past miscommunications on the matter.”

Right-thinking Malaysians will surely agree with me that dismissing such a horrendous error as “miscommunication” does not at all absolve Arul Kanda from providing us with the right answers.

First Arul Kanda had claimed that the redeemed investment was in “cash” which was subsequently found out to be untrue as they were in “assets”. Secondly, it was later revised to be in “units”, which means that no real “redemption” took place in January as announced by 1MDB.

Hence Arul Kanda must explain what exactly are these mysterious “units” parked in BSI Bank Singapore. Are they backed by listed or private company shares, or by properties or other assets? More importantly, what is the bank-assessed valuation of these so called “units”?

Without answering the above key questions, the 1MDB President’s excuse of “miscommunication” is completely hollow as the rakyat are still left clueless as to whether this so called “US$1.103 billion” (RM4.4 billion) asset previously held in the Cayman Islands fund is worth anything at all today. Did 1MDB lose practically all of its US$1.103 billion?

The fact that 1MDB refuses to address these crucial questions will only convince the people that 1MDB has lost all of these funds and is one of the key causes why the tax-payers have been forced to bailout the company.

And yet, 1MDB has the cheek to claim that I have “conveniently” forgotten the replies provided by the Finance Ministry to the Parliament. I certainly have not forgotten the parliamentary replies prepared by 1MDB, which contained no answers to the questions posed, like the one above.

If the questions have been answered, there would have been no need for me to ask again, nor will there be any need for 1MDB to deploy evasive manoeuvres to avoid answering these questions.

1MDB even accused me of attempting to undermine the various on-going investigations through his “chicken challenge” of asking Arul Kanda for a dialogue or debate. Firstly, let me remind 1MDB that it was Arul himself who made the offer to dialogue, which he subsequently refused to honour.

Secondly and more importantly, how could I possibly undermine any investigations into 1MDB where there’s hardly anyone left investigating the company? The Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) has been crippled. The Special Task Force investigating 1MDB and the Prime Minister has been declared “illegal” by Dato’ Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan. The Attorney-General has been sacked while the Auditor-General reports directly to the Finance Minister, who also happens to be Dato’ Seri Najib Razak.

Even former Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin lamented that it’s taking way too long for the 1MDB investigations. “Must we wait until the moon falls onto our laps?” he asked.

Hence the reason why the many issues surrounding the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal must continue to be raised in the public sphere is exactly because all other attempts to extract the truth have been practically stopped on their tracks.

1MDB may continue to accuse me of making “recycled allegations”. But I will continue to press and questions as long as 1MDB continues to give “recycled non-answers”. As such, I will be the proverbial monkey who will not get off 1MDB’s back as long as the state-owned company refuses to be truthful and answer simple questions like the bank-assessed worth of these “units” in Singapore.


Tony Pua

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1MDB's Missing US$1.1 Billion Enigma

Arul Kanda must explain the mystery of the missing US$1.1 billion of “redeemed” Cayman Islands investment.

Under tremendous pressure from the Malaysian public back in December 2014, the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) President Arul Kanda hastily announced via a media statement only 13 January 2015 that the balance of the US$1.103 billion has been “redeemed” but refused to disclose the nature of the proceeds and where the proceeds were deposited.

All Malaysians knew then was that despite an overdue RM2 billion debt 1MDB was to pay at the end of November 2014, 1MDB never brought the money back into Malaysia.

It was only in 7 February 2015 that Arul Kanda revealed to The Business Times of Singapore that the proceeds were “cash” held outside Malaysia. Arul Kanda clearly stated that while the funds amounting to US$1.103 billion would not be repatriated back to Malaysia, it would be kept in US dollars “as we have US$6.5 billion (RM23.06 billion) in bonds out there, in which interest payments come up to nearly US$400 million (RM1.4 billion) a year.”

The 1MDB President specifically said, “the cash is in our accounts and in US dollars. I can assure you (about that)... I have seen the statements.”

This alleged “cash” held outside Malaysia was confirmed by none other than the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak himself in his parliamentary reply to me dated 10 March 2015:

"Baki dana pelaburan 1MDB yang telah diuruskan oleh Cayman Monetary Authority sebanyak US$1.103 bilion telah ditebus dalam bentuk wang tunai dan masih disimpan dalam mata wang US Dolar di BSI Bank Limited Singapore."

However, after a series of exposes by the Sarawak Report which pointed to an absence of actual “cash” in the BSI Bank account in Singapore, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, who is also the Minister of Finance, was forced to correct his parliamentary response on 19 May 2015 which conceded that:

"…baki pelaburan yang telah ditebus oleh 1MDB adalah dalam bentuk aset di dalam mata wang US Dolar di sebuah bank di Singapura…"

This proved that the 1MDB President had lied to the world about the fact that there was US$1.1 billion of “cash” sitting in the branch of the Swiss Bank in Singapore, when it was merely so-called “assets”, a fact which Arul Kanda himself has conceded as a laughable “misunderstanding”.

However, the mystery had deepened when the Second Finance Minister, Dato’ Seri Husni Hanadzlah fine-tuned the latter parliamentary reply further in his press statements, claiming that what was held in BSI Bank were “units”, when he was asked to clarify on the exact nature of these “assets” in Singapore.

Nobody in the world knows exactly what these alleged “units” were except perhaps for Arul Kanda himself. Even Dato’ Seri Husni Hanadzlah was at a loss when asked to explain what these “Units” were. “Units” of investment are typically re-packaged assets sold by certain fund managers to investors using their own opaque measurement and valuation terms.

However if these assets in BSI Bank Singapore were still in “units” form, instead of being in raw assets like cash or shares or properties, it actually meant that the investment in Cayman Islands was never truly “redeemed”.

This means that Arul Kanda had lied and misled Malaysians from the very beginning. He not only lied about the fact that the proceeds from the redemption are in the form of cash, he lied to Malaysians about the fact that the Cayman Islands “fund” was redeemed in the first place! There was never any real “redemption” because the investment was in “units” form before the 13 January 2015 redemption, and they are still in “units” form today!

This proved that the whole so called investment in Cayman Islands since 2012 was a scam to hide the true worth of funds and assets remaining in 1MDB. It also proved that Arul Kanda’s media statements, despite having issued 48 of them on behalf of 1MDB, cannot be trusted by any measure.

As the President of 1MDB, a wholly-owned Ministry of Finance subsidiary laden with more than RM42 billion of debt, Arul Kanda must be held accountable to the tax-payers. If his “open book” media statements are not trustworthy, then the next best “open book” measure is for him to hold a public dialogue or debate with his critics.

I am ever prepared to accept a dialogue offer from Arul Kanda made in January at any time and place specified. I will not chicken out at the last minute claiming insufficient notice or other prior engagements. I am also 100% certain that thousands of Malaysians will want to watch the dialogue or debate “live” as they have had enough of 1MDB’s lies, half-truths and evasive answers.

Tony Pua

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48 1MDB Press Statements, but the Questions Still Remain

I have read every single one of the 48 press statements issued by 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) or Arul “Open Book” Kanda, but none of them answered the pressing questions whose answers Malaysians are seeking.

The President of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) tried to wriggle his way out of a public debate or dialogue with me over the pressing issues and questions hanging over the company by claiming that 1MDB has already issued 48 press statements since his appointment.

“We note that YB Tony Pua has yet again recycled various allegations, which have in fact been answered by 1MDB since January 2015 via 48 press announcements that can be easily obtained on our website,” he said.

Unfortunately, despite having diligently read each of the 48 press statements when they were issued, 1MDB was often either evasive in its answers or didn’t bother answering them altogether. Perhaps Arul Kanda needs to be reminded that it's the quality of the reply that matters, not the quantity.

I cited a few examples in my statement yesterday. Malaysians are asking very simple questions like what is the current debt levels of 1MDB, has it reached RM50 billion? The only answer Arul Kanda has provided is, 1MDB’s debt stands at RM41.8 billion as at 31 March 2014. As the President of 1MDB would know, Malaysians do not need Arul Kanda to tell us that. It is already August 2015, Malaysians are asking what is the latest debt figure for 1MDB? Why can’t Arul “Open Book” Kanda answer that simple question?

When I asked if it is true that 1MDB has doctored its financial statements provided to the financing banks, the only reply I got from 1MDB was effectively, it was none of my business. Arul Kanda refused to deny or confirm if their statements were doctored.

When I asked how much 1MDB paid Aabar or International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) to redeem its options, there was absolutely no response from 1MDB. Malaysians got the similar cold shoulder treatment from Arul Kanda when we asked if 1MDB transferred nearly US$1.2 billion to Good Star Limited.

There list of questions to be answered is too long to be listed here in this statement. But it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because we would get the same response from Arul Kanda – they are “recycled allegations”. Well, they may be recycled, but they are recycled because they were never answered by Mr Open Book.

But even if they were indeed “answered” in the 1MDB media releases, what is wrong with a public dialogue to put these matters to rest once and for all?

Arul Kanda went on to argue that the “independent, thorough and professional investigations” by the relevant authorities “are the appropriate forum to determine the truth about 1MDB”, presumably to avoid a public dialogue or debate with me.

The excuse is rich coming from someone who just gave TV3 an one-hour interview on 1MDB. If the so-called investigations (all of which are currently in limbo), are indeed the most appropriate channels to “determine the truth”, why did Arul Kanda try to manipulate public perception with his one-sided interview?

Therefore Arul Kanda should stop being a hypocrite by claiming 1MDB to be an “open book” but fail miserably to be transparent and accountable as his job demands of him.

Why can’t Arul Kanda answer these questions to allay the fears of the public and the suspicion of gross mismanagement and misappropriation taking place in the wholly-owned Ministry of Finance subsidiary?

Let me repeat here that if Arul Kanda is truly sincere, then he must honour his offer made earlier in January this year to hold a dialogue with me over 1MDB. There’s no need to twist and turn to hide the fact that he has chickened out of the offer.

I strongly believe that if Arul Kanda is able to respond to the questions posed and successfully debunk all my allegations and criticisms, it will not only do 1MDB a whole load of good, it will go a long way towards halting the slide of the Malaysian currency, stock exchange and economy.

Tony Pua

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Mr Arul Kanda, All I Want is a Chat

If Arul Kanda truly believes that 1Malaysia Development Bhd is an “open book” then he must honour his invitation to me in January this year for an open dialogue.

On Wednesday late night, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) President, Arul Kanda granted TV3 an interview to dispel the supposedly unjustified criticisms against the company.

“For me, 1MDB is an open book with many investigations… We are the most investigated company in Malaysia.”

Arul Kanda even has the cheek to claim that the delay in the Public Accounts Committee investigation “is really making it hard for us to work. As 1MDB, we want to give answers to the questions and allegations made against us. When the meeting is stalled, we do not have that chance.”

The 1MDB CEO is completely insincere with his claim of being an “open book”. If he is really sincere about being an “open book”, there would have been a lot more clarity and factual information about 1MDB without having to await exposes by third party sources such as the Sarawak Report, The Edge or The Wall Street Journal.

In fact there are so many simple questions that 1MDB has refused to answer in a straightforward and forthright manner. For example, is it true that 1MDB’s group debt has increased from RM42 billion to nearly RM50 billion to date? Or is it true that 1MDB has doctored its financial statements provided to the financing banks? Or how much did 1MDB pay Aabar or International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) to redeem its options?

Or a question which has been floating around for the past 6 months – did 1MDB transfer nearly US$1.2 billion to Good Star Limited, a company controlled by the international man-of-mystery, Jho Low?

Why can’t Arul Kanda answer these questions to allay the fears of the public and the suspicion of gross mismanagement and misappropriation taking place in the wholly-owned Ministry of Finance subsidiary? No one is more responsible for the credibility damage caused to 1MDB than 1MDB’s own top executives for refusing to be transparent and accountable.

Instead, all we get is a scripted television interview within the safe confines of UMNO-owned TV3 in a futile attempt to redeem its own reputation.

If Arul Kanda is truly sincere, and 1MDB is truly an “open book”, then Arul Kanda must honour his offer made earlier in January this year to hold a dialogue with me over 1MDB. There’s no need to pretend to wait for the PAC.

In fact, given that 1MDB’s battered image is causing serious negative consequences to Malaysia’s currency and economy, Arul Kanda must now accept an open debate or public dialogue with me to answer the many pressing questions, all Malaysians and the international community are asking.

If Arul Kanda is able to respond to the questions posed and successfully debunk all my allegations and criticisms, it will not only do 1MDB a whole load of good, it will go a long way towards halting the slide of the Malaysian currency, stock exchange and economy.

Surely, Arul Kanda can’t be afraid of someone whom he claims got all his facts wrong?

Tony Pua

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An Open Invite to the PM - Come See How Fundraising Really Works

An open invite to the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak to attend the sell-out DAP Petaling Jaya Fund-Raising Dinner to discover first hand how we raise funds.

Earlier this month, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak boasted that he is "ready to declare our political funding sources, if the opposition agrees to do the same," singling out DAP.

He also said that his efforts to legislate transparency in political funding in 2009 were "shot down by DAP", but added that he is ready to make a second effort for such legislature.

The Prime Minister must be joking. The DAP has never been consulted or showed the draft on any legislation before they are tabled in Parliament, much less a political funding bill. In fact our objections to dozens of bad laws were dismissed outright by the rubber stamp legislative assembly.

Hence we are shocked to discover that the DAP is accused of being so powerful that we are able to oppose or reject the political funding bill which the Prime Minister had wanted to table.

Let us say outright, the DAP has never objected to any political funding bill and will support all bills which will promote transparency and accountability.

My colleague, Member of Parliament for Segambut, Lim Lip Eng has already extended an invite to Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Director, Dato’ Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan to discover first hand how the DAP raises its operating and election funds. Unfortunately and inexplicably, the Minister did not have the courage to come see the truth for himself.

However, we hope that the Prime Minister will be true to his words – that he is “ready to declare his political funding sources”, if we agree to declare ours.

Hence, we have reserved 2 seats for you at our VVIP table for you and your wife at our fund-raising dinner tonight in Petaling Jaya for you to witness first hand, in full public view how the DAP raises its funds.

We are pleased to inform the Prime Minister that we have successfully sold a record 300 tables to raise funds in just 10 days. We will show to the Prime Minister that when 3,000 Malaysians attend our dinner, they willingly pay and contribute to attend. This is in complete contrast to Barisan Nasional dinners which are completely free, augmented by lucky draws of hundreds of lucrative prizes.

Hence, it will be a perfect opportunity for Dato’ Seri Najib Razak to show and explain how he received and spent his RM2.6 billion donation to the sell-out crowd of 3,000 Malaysians. I am certain that the crowd in Petaling Jaya look forward to greeting the Prime Minister with all the necessary decorum and provide him every opportunity to explain his case.


Tony Pua

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Our PM is Acting Like a Man Who Fears the Truth

The MACC never cleared Dato’ Seri Najib Razak of corruption and wrongdoing but the Prime Minister cleared himself for receiving RM2.6 billion in his personal bank account without any supporting evidence.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak claimed yesterday that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has cleared him of corruption over the US$700 million or RM2.6 billion donation in his personal accounts, according to reports in the News Straits Times and The Malay Mail Online.

“Don't say I sell the country, I won't sell the country. I'm the prime minister who will take responsibility for whatever I do… that's why MACC has said it is not corruption and not 1MDB money,” he was reported saying during the opening of the Bandar Tun Razak Umno division meeting yesterday.

I’m simply amazed at how the Prime Minister of Malaysia can twist the statement by the MACC to claim that he has been cleared of corruption and wrongdoings. I had to re-read the MACC statement issued on August 3rd to see if I have read its content wrongly.

“The result of the investigation found that the fund totalling RM2.6 billion allegedly deposited into the accounts of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was a contribution from donors, and not from 1MDB,” the commission said in the statement.

The MACC statement however never stated that the “contribution from donors” does not involve corruption or gratification as defined in the MACC Act. While the statement said that the money did not come from 1MDB, it did not clarify if it came from parties involved with the multi-billion ringgit transactions with 1MDB.

Furthermore if the MACC has indeed closed the case and cleared the Prime Minister, why would the MACC issue another statement two days later to clarify that "MACC would also ask Najib to give an explanation to the MACC about the donation he received"?

Hence it cannot be clearer that the MACC has never cleared the Prime Minister for receiving such dubious and suspicious “donation” from the Middle East.

What’s more, the MACC also clearly stated that it was still investigating former 1MDB subsidiary, SRC International Sdn Bhd for the RM42 million transferred into Dato’ Seri Najib’s bank account. In fact, MACC has already made several arrests pertaining to these investigations.

In fact, if the MACC has indeed cleared Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, there would have been no need for all the drastic actions taken by the Prime Minister’s Department to intimidate, jeopardize and stall the activities of the MACC.

The police has arrested and investigated MACC officers who were investigating the Prime Minister. Two senior directors of MACC were suddenly transferred to the Prime Minister’s Office on Friday. The Special Taskforce investigating the Prime Minister has also been disbanded by the new Attorney General.

All the above actions by the Prime Minister points not towards a man who is “cleared” and innocent, but to one who is using and abusing all his powers to suppress and obstruct any further investigations into the dodgy RM2.6 billion mysterious donation.

Dato’ Seri Najib Razak is acting like a man who fears the truth exposed and chooses to lie and twist facts in his attempts to sweep the damning evidence under the carpet.

If the Prime Minister really believes he is innocent, he must immediately reinstate the Special Taskforce and grant them complete independence to finish their investigations without fear or favour. Otherwise, Malaysians cannot be blamed for expressing their own judgement on the matter.

Tony Pua

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