It is amazing how an UMNO MPs speaks when he is in or out of the Cabinet.
Dato’ Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, before he was appointed to the Cabinet in July last year, was one of the more vocal UMNO members of parliament who asked probing questions with regards to the unravelling RM50 billion 1MDB scandal.
Today, after being promoted to become the Second Finance Minister recently, he would tell Malaysians that 1MDB has nothing to do with the Federal Government budget.
In his explanation to Malaysiakini, he said the government's budget had nothing to do with 1MDB, which was managed by its board.
“A budget is a budget, 1MDB is 1MDB, they are two separate matters. Budget is something that we present to the public to explain what the government is going to do - how to spend the money with the revenue. The budget has nothing to do with 1MDB. Please tell me which part is related,” he rationalised.
Instead, today we have former Cabinet Ministers, including the former Second Finance Minister, Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah asking probing questions about 1MDB and its very existence during his budget speech.
1MDB has everything to do with the Federal Government Budget not only because the global scandal has made Malaysia a renown kleptocracy and puts into question on why a tainted Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, who was found to have siphoned US$731 million into his personal bank account, is still the Finance and Prime Minister of Malaysia.
1MDB has everything to do directly with the Budget because Federal Government funds are being utilised to bail out 1MDB.
Most crucially, the Federal Government has given direct and indirect guarantees on RM5 billion and nearly US$8 billion, or an estimated combined RM32 billion worth of 1MDB’s borrowings and liabilities. If 1MDB fails to repay its loans and obligations, then the Finance Ministry will have to foot the bill. RM32 billion will raise our targeted deficit of 3% of the GDP to 5.4%!
Any responsible Finance Minister will have the obligation to explain to the Malaysian tax-payers as to how the financial scandal will be resolved, especially since the much-hyped rationalisation exercsise which was supposed to by completed by June this year has collapsed.
The collapse was a result of the discovery that 1MDB has made as much as US$3.51 billion payment, according to information submitted by the 1MDB CEO, Arul Kanda to the Auditor-General, to a fraudulent Aabar Investment PJS Limited which was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.
As a result, the parent of the “real” Aabar Investment PJS of Abu Dhabi, International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) has brought a suit against 1MDB and the Malaysian Government to the Arbitration Court in London. Of interest is the fact that the Ministry of Finance Incorporated has indemnified IPIC of up to US$4.8 billion of 1MDB’s obligations.
The failure of Dato’ Seri Najib Razak in addressing the 1MDB issue, especially in the Budget, is a clear attempt to hide the scandal and cover up for the guilty parties, including himself, who had misappropriated billions of dollars from the state-owned investment firm.
It might be useful to remind Dato Seri Johari Abdul Ghani that in the Budgets prior to 2013, Dato’ Seri Najib was happily gloating about 1MDB projects and achievements in his Budget speeches and including the proposed 1MDB investments in Bandar Malaysia and Tun Razak Exchange in the data compiled for the Non-Financial Public Corporations (NFPCs). If it was relevant for the Budget then, why is it suddenly not relevant today?
The Second Finance Minister should be ashamed of himself for failing the people of Malaysia after he has been appointed to the Cabinet to get to the bottom of the single largest scandal ever suffered by Malaysia, and instead turned into a stooge to defend the kleptocrats of this nation.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Treasury-General not telling the whole truth when dismissing Non-Financial Public Corporations as a time-bomb for Budget 2017
After the Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak announced the Budget for 2017, I had issued a statement warning of a time-bomb hidden in the depths of the Economic Report, often unnoticed in budget presentations.
In 2013, the budget deficit was 3.8%. The figure declined to 3.4% and 3.2% in 2014 and 2015. For this year, the Government estimates it to be 3.1% and is forecasting 3.0% for 2017.
However, what is the above relatively benign figures mask is the increasing shift of expenditure from the official Federal Government budget to state-owned corporations. Hence in reality, Government spending is higher than ever, increasing the risk to the economy with larger borrowings and contingent liabilities.
Some of these hidden off-budget spending are exposed in the obscure Non-Financial Public Corporations (NFPC) Financial Position (Table 6.13 p161 Economic Report 2016/7 – see below).
NFPCs includes 29 key government-linked companies including Indah Water Konsortium, KTM Bhd, Telekom Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines Bhd, Malaysia Airport Holdings, Petronas, Prasarana, Syarikat Perumahan Negara, Tenaga Nasional, MRT Co and the UEM Group.
The table clearly showed that the the NFPC deficit which was a modest RM10.6 billion deficit in 2013 leaped astronomically to RM52.3 billion in 2014 and further increased to RM56.9 billion in 2015. The estimated deficit for 2016 is currently RM50.5 billion.
Effectively, Government-owned enterprises are having much larger deficits than the Federal Government itself. The Federal Government budget deficits for 2015 was RM37.2 billion. In 2016, it is estimated to hit RM38.7 billion while the Government forecast RM40.3 billion for 2017.
When this matter was raised to the Treasury-General Tan Sri Irwan Serigar on Monday, he dismissed my warning that the NFPC deficit is a ticking time-bomb waiting to explode.
He said “NFPCs are Government-Linked Companies which huge investments, and they have borrowings… Everybody needs to invest”.
He further added that “It is a contingent liability, but its not a time bomb kind of thing as they can repay their loans. They are big entities with large resources.
“For example, Tenaga Nasional and Telekom Bhd, they are making profits. If they have borrowings for their projects, are you going to say it’s a time-bomb?” Tan Sri Irwan asked rhetorically.
The Treasury-General is being extremely disingenuous by citing only the big public listed companies as examples. Out of the list of 29 companies, there are also other companies which are generally well-managed and would have no problems servicing their financial obligations, such as Axiata and Petronas.
However, there are many other entities among the 29 which are nothing other than vehicles for Government expenditure which more likely than not, will never generate sufficient income to service their loan obligations.
Why didn’t Tan Sri Irwan Serigar point out the fact that Prasarana’s RM13 billion of debt and mounting expenses have only increased and requires annual Government grants to keep the company afloat?
Why didn’t he point out that MRT Co is undertaking a RM22 billion investment for the current Sg Buloh – Kajang line and is planning another RM26 billion MRT II line which is financed almost entirely debt which are never likely to be repaid without future Government support?
Or the fact that among the 29 companies lie many critically ill GLCs which had required or will require government bailout, such as Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTMB), Malaysia Airlines, Penerbangan Malaysia, Silterra Malaysia and Syarikat Perumahan Negara?
Worse, the list of 29 NFPCs isn’t even conclusive. They leave out a number of other key Government-owned enterprises which heavily commit the federal government to meeting their obligations for many years to come. This list will include PFI Sdn Bhd which took a RM30 billion loan from EPF to carry out general public infrastructure works, Pembinaan BLT with a RM10 billion debt to build police stations nationwise, and of course more recently controversial companies such as 1MDB and SRC International.
I call upon the Secretary-General to be stop creative accounting with the country’s national budget in order to manipulate the perception towards the Government’s financial position. Such actions will only bring short term benefits but bring long-term pain, reminiscent of the Greek-type government spending which ultimately brought collapse to the country.
In 2013, the budget deficit was 3.8%. The figure declined to 3.4% and 3.2% in 2014 and 2015. For this year, the Government estimates it to be 3.1% and is forecasting 3.0% for 2017.
However, what is the above relatively benign figures mask is the increasing shift of expenditure from the official Federal Government budget to state-owned corporations. Hence in reality, Government spending is higher than ever, increasing the risk to the economy with larger borrowings and contingent liabilities.
Some of these hidden off-budget spending are exposed in the obscure Non-Financial Public Corporations (NFPC) Financial Position (Table 6.13 p161 Economic Report 2016/7 – see below).
NFPCs includes 29 key government-linked companies including Indah Water Konsortium, KTM Bhd, Telekom Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines Bhd, Malaysia Airport Holdings, Petronas, Prasarana, Syarikat Perumahan Negara, Tenaga Nasional, MRT Co and the UEM Group.
The table clearly showed that the the NFPC deficit which was a modest RM10.6 billion deficit in 2013 leaped astronomically to RM52.3 billion in 2014 and further increased to RM56.9 billion in 2015. The estimated deficit for 2016 is currently RM50.5 billion.
Effectively, Government-owned enterprises are having much larger deficits than the Federal Government itself. The Federal Government budget deficits for 2015 was RM37.2 billion. In 2016, it is estimated to hit RM38.7 billion while the Government forecast RM40.3 billion for 2017.
When this matter was raised to the Treasury-General Tan Sri Irwan Serigar on Monday, he dismissed my warning that the NFPC deficit is a ticking time-bomb waiting to explode.
He said “NFPCs are Government-Linked Companies which huge investments, and they have borrowings… Everybody needs to invest”.
He further added that “It is a contingent liability, but its not a time bomb kind of thing as they can repay their loans. They are big entities with large resources.
“For example, Tenaga Nasional and Telekom Bhd, they are making profits. If they have borrowings for their projects, are you going to say it’s a time-bomb?” Tan Sri Irwan asked rhetorically.
The Treasury-General is being extremely disingenuous by citing only the big public listed companies as examples. Out of the list of 29 companies, there are also other companies which are generally well-managed and would have no problems servicing their financial obligations, such as Axiata and Petronas.
However, there are many other entities among the 29 which are nothing other than vehicles for Government expenditure which more likely than not, will never generate sufficient income to service their loan obligations.
Why didn’t Tan Sri Irwan Serigar point out the fact that Prasarana’s RM13 billion of debt and mounting expenses have only increased and requires annual Government grants to keep the company afloat?
Why didn’t he point out that MRT Co is undertaking a RM22 billion investment for the current Sg Buloh – Kajang line and is planning another RM26 billion MRT II line which is financed almost entirely debt which are never likely to be repaid without future Government support?
Or the fact that among the 29 companies lie many critically ill GLCs which had required or will require government bailout, such as Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTMB), Malaysia Airlines, Penerbangan Malaysia, Silterra Malaysia and Syarikat Perumahan Negara?
Worse, the list of 29 NFPCs isn’t even conclusive. They leave out a number of other key Government-owned enterprises which heavily commit the federal government to meeting their obligations for many years to come. This list will include PFI Sdn Bhd which took a RM30 billion loan from EPF to carry out general public infrastructure works, Pembinaan BLT with a RM10 billion debt to build police stations nationwise, and of course more recently controversial companies such as 1MDB and SRC International.
I call upon the Secretary-General to be stop creative accounting with the country’s national budget in order to manipulate the perception towards the Government’s financial position. Such actions will only bring short term benefits but bring long-term pain, reminiscent of the Greek-type government spending which ultimately brought collapse to the country.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Apa sebabnya Menteri Kewangan merahsiakan pengurus dana dan bank kustodian bagi pelaburan “unit” yang dikatakan bernilai US$940 juta?
Laporan Ketua Audit Negara dan Laporan Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Negara yang dibentangkan di Dewan Rakyat pada bulan April yang lalu telah menyatakan bahawa nilai dan aset sejumlah US$7 bilion (RM28 bilion) tidak dapat dikesan atau disahkan.
Antaranya ialah pelaburan “unit” bernilai US$940 juta yang pada masa itu disimpan dalam bank kustodian, BSI Bank di Singapura. Ketua Audit Negara tidak dapat mengesahkan kewujudan dan nilai semasa pelaburan tersebut sebab 1MDB telah gagal menyerahkan sebarang dokumen daripada BSI Bank kepadanya walaupun dokumen telah diminta selama setahun.
Aset “unit” yang dikatakan bernilai US$940 juta ini merupakan baki aset yang ditebus daripada pengurus dana di Cayman Islands pada bulan January 2015.
Sehingga hari ini, “unit” yang disimpan di BSI Bank ini merupakan misteri sebab kalau 1MDB begitu terdesak kekurangan aliran tunai, sehingga terpaksa menjual aset-aset penting negara seperti penjanakuasa bebas dan hartanah emas seperti Bandar Malaysia kepada pelabur asing, kenapa pelaburan “unit” ini tidak dijualkan dahulu untuk membiayai hutang gergasi 1MDB?
Keengganan 1MDB untuk menyampaikan sebarang matlumat dan dokumen kepada Ketua Audit Negara, dan keputusan Deloitte Malaysia untuk menarik balik pengakuan kepada audit 1MDB bagi tahun 2013 dan 2014 mengemukakan keraguan besar terhadap kewujudan “unit” yang dipegang dalam BSI Bank tersebut.
Kini, lesen perbankan BSI Bank telah dibatalkan oleh kerajaan Singapura kerana didapati bersalah dari segi pengubahan wang haram yang berkaitan dengan skandal 1MDB. Saya telah bertanya kepada Menteri Kewangan, apa telah terjadi kepada “unit” tersebut.
Inilah jawapan yang saya telah terima daripada YB Menteri Kewangan pada Hari Khamis yang lalu. Beliau menyebut bahawa “Ahli Lembaga Pengarah Brazen Sky Limited mengesahkan bahawa sebuah bank berlesen antarabangsa telah diberi mandate sebagai custodian bank untuk mengambilalih peranan BSI Bank, Singapura. Ahli Lembaga Pengarah Brazen Sky Limited juga telah melaporkan bahawa tiada perubahan status di dalam nilai pelaburan tersebut.”
Ini merupakan jawapan yang cukup tidak bertanggungjawab daripada Menteri Kewangan.
Pertama sekali, kenapa Menteri tak sebut, siapakah pengurus dana dan custodian bank yang baru? Apakah kerahsiaan yang diperlukan sehingga nama tidak boleh dimaklumkan kepada Dewan Rakyat?
Dulu bila Menteri Kewangan ditanya siapa pengurus dana pelaburan 1MDB di Cayman Islands, Menteri Kewangan sama-sama enggan menamakan nama pengurus dana walaupun beliau menegaskan bahawa ia dilaburkan dalam sebuah syarikat kewangan yang berlesen.
Kini, kita faham kenapa Menteri enggan menamakan syarikat. Ini adalah kerana syarikat pengurus dana pada masa 1MDB membuat pelaburan telah didapati oleh Ketua Audit Negara bahawa syarikat itu tanpa lesen.
Adakah keengganan Menteri Kewangan untuk menamakan pengurusan dana “unit” ini adalah kerana ia juga tidak berlesen seperti syarikat di Cayman Islands yang dulu?
Adakah Menteri Kewangan takut bahawa kalau dinamakan, bank kustodian yang baru ini juga akan dibatalkan lesen perbankan seperti apa yang terjadi kepada BSI Bank Singapura?
Kedua, jawapan Menteri Kewangan tidak boleh diterima kerana beliau bertanggungjawab untuk memastikan kesahihan segala jawapan yang diberikan oleh syarikat yang dikawalnya. Menteri Kewangan tak boleh jawab bahawa Ahli Lembaga Pengarah berkata bahawa apa-apa. Menteri Kewangan kena pasti bahawa nilai “unit” itu benar-benar bernilai US$940 juta!
It is not right for the Finance Minister to try to protect himself with deniability.
Adalah jelas bahawa kesemua kekurangan keterbukaan dalam jawapan Menteri Kewangan ini menunjukkan bahawa adanya udang disebalik batu yang disembunyikan daripada rakyat Malaysia.
Antaranya ialah pelaburan “unit” bernilai US$940 juta yang pada masa itu disimpan dalam bank kustodian, BSI Bank di Singapura. Ketua Audit Negara tidak dapat mengesahkan kewujudan dan nilai semasa pelaburan tersebut sebab 1MDB telah gagal menyerahkan sebarang dokumen daripada BSI Bank kepadanya walaupun dokumen telah diminta selama setahun.
Aset “unit” yang dikatakan bernilai US$940 juta ini merupakan baki aset yang ditebus daripada pengurus dana di Cayman Islands pada bulan January 2015.
Sehingga hari ini, “unit” yang disimpan di BSI Bank ini merupakan misteri sebab kalau 1MDB begitu terdesak kekurangan aliran tunai, sehingga terpaksa menjual aset-aset penting negara seperti penjanakuasa bebas dan hartanah emas seperti Bandar Malaysia kepada pelabur asing, kenapa pelaburan “unit” ini tidak dijualkan dahulu untuk membiayai hutang gergasi 1MDB?
Keengganan 1MDB untuk menyampaikan sebarang matlumat dan dokumen kepada Ketua Audit Negara, dan keputusan Deloitte Malaysia untuk menarik balik pengakuan kepada audit 1MDB bagi tahun 2013 dan 2014 mengemukakan keraguan besar terhadap kewujudan “unit” yang dipegang dalam BSI Bank tersebut.
Kini, lesen perbankan BSI Bank telah dibatalkan oleh kerajaan Singapura kerana didapati bersalah dari segi pengubahan wang haram yang berkaitan dengan skandal 1MDB. Saya telah bertanya kepada Menteri Kewangan, apa telah terjadi kepada “unit” tersebut.
Inilah jawapan yang saya telah terima daripada YB Menteri Kewangan pada Hari Khamis yang lalu. Beliau menyebut bahawa “Ahli Lembaga Pengarah Brazen Sky Limited mengesahkan bahawa sebuah bank berlesen antarabangsa telah diberi mandate sebagai custodian bank untuk mengambilalih peranan BSI Bank, Singapura. Ahli Lembaga Pengarah Brazen Sky Limited juga telah melaporkan bahawa tiada perubahan status di dalam nilai pelaburan tersebut.”
Ini merupakan jawapan yang cukup tidak bertanggungjawab daripada Menteri Kewangan.
Pertama sekali, kenapa Menteri tak sebut, siapakah pengurus dana dan custodian bank yang baru? Apakah kerahsiaan yang diperlukan sehingga nama tidak boleh dimaklumkan kepada Dewan Rakyat?
Dulu bila Menteri Kewangan ditanya siapa pengurus dana pelaburan 1MDB di Cayman Islands, Menteri Kewangan sama-sama enggan menamakan nama pengurus dana walaupun beliau menegaskan bahawa ia dilaburkan dalam sebuah syarikat kewangan yang berlesen.
Kini, kita faham kenapa Menteri enggan menamakan syarikat. Ini adalah kerana syarikat pengurus dana pada masa 1MDB membuat pelaburan telah didapati oleh Ketua Audit Negara bahawa syarikat itu tanpa lesen.
Adakah keengganan Menteri Kewangan untuk menamakan pengurusan dana “unit” ini adalah kerana ia juga tidak berlesen seperti syarikat di Cayman Islands yang dulu?
Adakah Menteri Kewangan takut bahawa kalau dinamakan, bank kustodian yang baru ini juga akan dibatalkan lesen perbankan seperti apa yang terjadi kepada BSI Bank Singapura?
Kedua, jawapan Menteri Kewangan tidak boleh diterima kerana beliau bertanggungjawab untuk memastikan kesahihan segala jawapan yang diberikan oleh syarikat yang dikawalnya. Menteri Kewangan tak boleh jawab bahawa Ahli Lembaga Pengarah berkata bahawa apa-apa. Menteri Kewangan kena pasti bahawa nilai “unit” itu benar-benar bernilai US$940 juta!
It is not right for the Finance Minister to try to protect himself with deniability.
Adalah jelas bahawa kesemua kekurangan keterbukaan dalam jawapan Menteri Kewangan ini menunjukkan bahawa adanya udang disebalik batu yang disembunyikan daripada rakyat Malaysia.
Sunday, October 23, 2016
The Economic Report 2016/7 exposes Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s hidden budget time-bomb
Since the last general elections, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak has successfully managed the investment community’s perception of the “prudence” of the budget with declining budget deficits, albeit at a snail’s pace.
In 2013, the budget deficit was 3.8%. The figure declined to 3.4% and 3.2% in 2014 and 2015. For this year, the Government estimates it to be 3.1% and is forecasting 3.0% for 2017.
Despite the fact that Dato’ Seri Najib will never achieve his zero deficit target in 2020 at the current snail’s pace, credit should be given to the Finance and Prime Minister for the moderating deficit in the light of difficult economic conditions – that is if the deficit figures truly reflect government spending.
Even for a non-economist, you might raise an eyebrow as to whether deficit decline looked too “uniformly smooth” in a choppy global economy. If you think that the numbers look too good to be true and have been manipulated, you are absolutely right.
In practically every budget in recent years, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak had announced multiple multi-billion ringgit projects such as the LRT Extension Project, the MRT I and II Projects and soon, the proposed High-Speed Rail and the RM55 billion East Coast Railway Link.
However, these spending were never reflected in the Government budget expenditure which showcased the “prudent” budget deficits. Where did these massive spending disappear to?
You will find part of the answer in the Non-Financial Public Corporations (NFPC) Financial Position (Table 6.13 p161 Economic Report 2016/7 – see below).
NFPCs includes 29 key government-linked companies including Indah Water Konsortium, KTM Bhd, Telekom Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines Bhd, Malaysia Airport Holdings, Petronas, Prasarana, Syarikat Perumahan Negara, Tenaga Nasional, MRT Co and the UEM Group.
What is most alarming from the table is the NFPCs’ spending deficit. In 2013, the NFPC deficit was a modest RM10.6 billion. However, since then, the NFPC deficit leaped astronomically to RM52.3 billion in 2014 and further increased to RM56.9 billion in 2015. The estimated deficit for 2016 is currently RM50.5 billion.
To lend context and perspective to the scale of these NFPC deficits, the Federal Government budget deficits for 2015 was RM37.2 billion. In 2016, it is estimated to hit RM38.7 billion while the Government forecast RM40.3 billion for 2017.
In lay man’s terms, the Government has hidden the bulk of its excessive spending under the NFPCs to maintain a semblance of “moderate” budget deficit. However, so much spending has now been shifted to these NFPCs, that the NFPC deficit has grown by leaps and bounds to now become even bigger than the Federal Government deficit!
To make matter worse, the 29 GLCs accounted in the NFPC does not include debt stricken 1Malaysia Development Bhd which is mired in more than RM20 billion of debt.
There is no question that the NFPC deficit is the biggest time-bomb to the Malaysian public finances. We can already feel its ticking with the rapidly rising “Debt Service Charges” which the Government is forced to bear annually. This is caused in no small part, to the Government being obligated to pay for interest and loans which the NFPCs are unable to fulfil.
The Federal Government Debt Service Charges have increased from RM20.3 billion in 2013 to a projected RM28.9 billion in 2017. The increase will only accelerate and snowball as NFPC financial obligations arising from the massive deficits are realised in the years to come.
By the time the time-bomb explodes, the 2017 Budget which is already depressing, will feel like a Hawaiian vacation on hindsight.
Friday, October 21, 2016
Budget 2017 proved that the Government is not only running out of cash, but the situation will only deteriorate further, making 2017 possibly one of the worst years for ordinary Malaysians
Federal Government failed to meet 2016 revenue targets
Last year, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak announced in his budget that the Government expected to collect RM225.7 billion of revenue for 2016. However, the 2016 revenue has now been revised to RM212.6 billion based on the latest estimates. That represents a very substantial 5.8% or RM13.1 billion shortfall for 2016.
To put things into perspective, and to highlight the severity of situation, more often than not in the past, the Government will collect more than they projected.
The shortfall has in turn caused lower than projected operating and development expenditure. The Government now estimates 2016 operating expenditure to drop from RM215.2 billion to RM207.1 billion, while development expenditure will drop from RM50 billion to only RM45 billion.
For example, this is the reason why we are seeing a substantial shortfall in health expenditure, resulting in shortages of reagents for conducting critical blood tests as well as increase in cost of medication for the man on the street.
The ability of the Federal Government to allocate the already limited operating expenditure budget is further constricted by Emoluments and Debt Servicing
In fact, it will only get worse in 2017 as the sins of the past catch up with the Government of the day.
The increasing size of the civil service has ensured that the “Emolument” payments for 2016 has increased by RM3.8 billion to RM73.9 billion despite the RM8 billion decline in operating expenses. For 2017, the Government has further projected that emoluments will increase further by at least RM3.6 billion. In the meantime, pension contributions, or “Retirement Charges” will also increase substantially from RM19.0 billion in 2016 to RM21.8 billion in 2017.
In addition, the annual “Debt Service Charges” – the instalments and repayments the Government has to pay for loans taken in the past – has increased significantly. For 2016, it is estimated at RM26.6 billion or a RM2.36 billion hike from 2015. For the next year in 2017, the amount would further increase to RM28.9 billion. This is as a result of the Government’s reckless ramping up of Federal Government debt over the past decade on the back of high oil prices.
The twin increases in emoluments & retirement charges and debt service charges in the context of constricted revenue and operating expenditure would only mean less funds for other crucial expenses.
“Subsidies and social assistance” has already been reduced from RM39.7 billion in 2014 to RM27.3 billion (2015) to an estimated RM24.6 billion (2016). It will be further reduced to RM22.4 billion in 2017.
There will also be less money for medicine supplies, housing, scholarships and other forms of educational support.
Federal Government is overly optimistic on its 2017 revenue projections
Finally, the only reason the Government was still able to project a “moderate” 3% budget deficit for 2017 was by giving an optimistic projection in its tax revenues. Despite a significant drop in the estimated Petroleum Income Tax (PITA) from RM11.6 billion in 2015 to RM8.5 billion in 2016, the Government is assuming higher oil prices and demand for 2017 to collect RM10.6 billion.
The Government also assumes an increase in Corporate Income Tax (CITA) despite no corresponding assumption in a higher economic growth rate. CITA actually declined marginally in 2016 to RM63.2 billion from RM63.7 billion in 2015. However in 2017, the Government has inextricably projected that it would receive RM69.2 billion.
Similarly, despite a declining trend of Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in the recent quarters, the Government is still projecting an increase in collections of GST from RM38.5 billion in 2016 to RM40 billion in 2017.
All the above goes to prove that the Government is running out of cash very quickly and is struggling to balance its revenue and expenses. The Government’s excesses of the past – including increasing the civil service hires to reduce graduate unemployment, excessive borrowings to finance inefficiency, corruption and wastages have severely constricted the Government’s ability to allocate expenditure today.
Hence when the overly optimistic projections in government revenue collection fail to materialise, we can expect 2017 to be a very painful year for ordinary Malaysians.
Saturday, October 08, 2016
Forum & Objection Townhall: Constituency Re-Delineation - How To Steal An Election?
DAP will be organising a Forum cum Objection Townhall on the Election Commission’s proposal to re-delineate the electoral constituencies in Malaysia.
The Objection Townhall will give Malaysians, especially those in the Klang Valley, the opportunity to register our protest by signing the objection forms we have prepared.
We call upon Malaysians to make your voice count as all objections to the EC Re-Delineation Proposal must be submitted by Oct 14. Hence this event will in all likelihood be the last opportunity for you to state your stand and be part of the process to fight and reject the gerrymandering exercise.
The delineation of constituencies in Malaysia is already skewed. That’s why in the 13th General Election, BN won only 48% of the votes but secured 60% of the Parliamentary seats.
So now, BN’s ingenious plan is to skew the electoral boundaries even further by shifting pro-BN voters from opposition strongholds into opposition and BN marginal seats. The proposal by the Election Commission is the worst gerrymandering exercise ever seen in Malaysia’s history.
Malaysians must rise to object against the audacious attempt to now cheat us of our democratic rights to a free and fair election. We must not let a corrupt government hang on to power via the abuse of power.
The Forum entitled “Constituency Re-Delineation – How to Steal an Election?” will feature distinguished speakers discussing various aspects of the re-delineation exercise. They include:
- Tony Pua, MP for Petaling Jaya Utara
- Rafizi Ramli, MP for Pandan
- Dr. Mohd. Hatta Ramli, MP for Kuala Krai
- Maria Chin, Chairperson for Bersih 2.0
- Dr Ong Kian Ming, MP for Serdang
- Wong Chin Huat, Fellow, Penang Institute
- Michelle Ng, a lawyer who also leads dedicated legal team to assist DAP with re-delineation issues with the Election Commisson
The event will be held at The Club, 1 Club Drive, Bandar Utama on Wednesday, 12 October 2016 at 8pm.
Thursday, October 06, 2016
Is Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s strategy to deal with Malaysia’s entrenching reputation as a global kleptocracy to remain silent like a mouse?
Malaysians have been demanding answers from Dato' Seri Najib Razak on the 1MDB-related scandal, that is the RM4 billion SRC International, which is the former subsidiary of 1MDB. Similar to 1MDB, the money which was borrowed from KWAP has been invested in mysterious and unknown funds overseas. No one, including anyone from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) knows where the money has disappeared to.
The Prime Minister and the Attorney-General have also stubbornly refused to respond to the clear-cut evidence which have shown that SRC International has transferred, via intermediaries, at least RM67 million into the personal bank account of Dato' Seri Najib Razak.
However, it appears that Dato' Seri Najib cannot remain silent forever as, like 1MDB, the international authorities are catching up to the SRC International laundering scams.
The Swiss Attorney-General Office (OAG) has publicly stated that investigations revealed that substantial amounts of money were allegedly misappropriated from former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International and that fraud was committed based on a form of “Ponzi” scheme to cover it up.
Dato' Seri Najib Razak can no longer choose to remain silent in the face of another international investigation over funds which he controls. He must come forward and disclose if the allegations made by the Swiss authorities are frivolous or are they substantive, which will require an open and thorough investigation in Malaysia.
In addition, Dato' Seri Najib Razak must state if he will provide full cooperation with the Swiss authorities who are demanding and requiring information from their counterparts in Malaysia. Or is he going to merely pay lip service and ignore the requests?
At least in 1MDB, for the longest time, there were "faces" who responded to questions and queries, like Datuk Shahrol Halmi and Arul Kanda.
The question Malaysians have is, who is or are running the show in SRC International? As far as we are aware, the Managing Director of SRC International, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil has disappeared off the face of Malaysia together with another fellow Director, Datuk Suboh Yassin. And yet despite their disappearance, they have remained Directors in SRC International over the past year or more. In fact, when asked, the Prime Minister had responded in Parliament that there is no need at all to appoint new Directors or a new management team.
It is a testament to the failure of Malaysian institutions, entrusted to safeguard the people's money as well as law and order, that nothing concrete has been done to uncover another massive embezzlement of RM4 billion of funds from a state-owned subsidiary. What have the police, Bank Negara Malaysia, MACC or the Attorney-General's office been doing? Have they been closing both eyes because the scandal involved the Prime Minister himself?
If Dato' Seri Najib Razak believes that the Swiss allegations are frivolous and untrue, then he should immediately demand the Auditor-General commence a new report specifically on SRC International and table the report to Parliament. If not, there is no longer any credibility to his administration which will be etched in history as the single biggest den of thieves.
The Prime Minister and the Attorney-General have also stubbornly refused to respond to the clear-cut evidence which have shown that SRC International has transferred, via intermediaries, at least RM67 million into the personal bank account of Dato' Seri Najib Razak.
However, it appears that Dato' Seri Najib cannot remain silent forever as, like 1MDB, the international authorities are catching up to the SRC International laundering scams.
The Swiss Attorney-General Office (OAG) has publicly stated that investigations revealed that substantial amounts of money were allegedly misappropriated from former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International and that fraud was committed based on a form of “Ponzi” scheme to cover it up.
Dato' Seri Najib Razak can no longer choose to remain silent in the face of another international investigation over funds which he controls. He must come forward and disclose if the allegations made by the Swiss authorities are frivolous or are they substantive, which will require an open and thorough investigation in Malaysia.
In addition, Dato' Seri Najib Razak must state if he will provide full cooperation with the Swiss authorities who are demanding and requiring information from their counterparts in Malaysia. Or is he going to merely pay lip service and ignore the requests?
At least in 1MDB, for the longest time, there were "faces" who responded to questions and queries, like Datuk Shahrol Halmi and Arul Kanda.
The question Malaysians have is, who is or are running the show in SRC International? As far as we are aware, the Managing Director of SRC International, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil has disappeared off the face of Malaysia together with another fellow Director, Datuk Suboh Yassin. And yet despite their disappearance, they have remained Directors in SRC International over the past year or more. In fact, when asked, the Prime Minister had responded in Parliament that there is no need at all to appoint new Directors or a new management team.
It is a testament to the failure of Malaysian institutions, entrusted to safeguard the people's money as well as law and order, that nothing concrete has been done to uncover another massive embezzlement of RM4 billion of funds from a state-owned subsidiary. What have the police, Bank Negara Malaysia, MACC or the Attorney-General's office been doing? Have they been closing both eyes because the scandal involved the Prime Minister himself?
If Dato' Seri Najib Razak believes that the Swiss allegations are frivolous and untrue, then he should immediately demand the Auditor-General commence a new report specifically on SRC International and table the report to Parliament. If not, there is no longer any credibility to his administration which will be etched in history as the single biggest den of thieves.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
The Election Commission is not only trying to steal GE14 by gerrymandering constituencies to UMNO’s advantage, it is systematically impeding the registration of new voters
We have statistically and empirically proven that there is only one “winner” in the newly proposed re-delineation of parliamentary and state constituencies by the Election Commission (EC). Wherever possible, marginal UMNO seats are strengthened while marginal opposition-held constituencies are weakened by shifting in core BN supporters from neighbouring constituencies.
However, the EC who is also the only institution which can register new voters in the country is also proactively stalling and impeding the registration of new voters.
As at April this year, there are 17.6 million qualified voters in Malaysia. However, only 13.4 million of them are register while 4.2 million remained disenfranchised. This means that nearly 1 in 4 voters are not able to exercise their rights enshrined in the constitution if an election is called today.
Instead of making concrete and concerted efforts in collaboration with all parties to increase the number of voters registered, the EC is doing its utmost to slow down new registrations.
Firstly, the EC has stopped the appointment of Assistant Registration Officers (AROs) from political parties to assist with the registration exercise since 2013. In 2011 and 2012 before the last general election, there were 5720 and 4777 appointed AROs. Today, the numbers are negligible and they have not been replaced with any other institutions to perform the same task.
The impact and difference is telling. In 2011 alone, 1,023,170 Malaysians were registered as new voters. However, the 3 years from 2013 to 2015 only saw a total of 617,254 voters registered, or an average of 205,751 voters per annum. At this rate, the number of unregistered voters will only increase exponentially as there are more than 500,000 new qualified voters every year (and increasing!).
As political parties are unable to have AROs to register voters, we have been told by the EC that they will be able to assign their officers to assist us with our voter registration campaigns.
However, such assistance comes with many conditions attached – such as no scheduled campaigns in the evenings and no “pasar malams” or open-air markets.
Despite the restrictions, the DAP cooperated and focused our joint campaigns with EC in the air-conditioned comforts of shopping malls. However, to our disappointment and despite repeated formal and informal reminders to bring sufficient forms, the EC officials – under instruction, bring only limited number of forms. As a result, our voter registration booths at the malls had to close early and hundreds of qualified voters were left disappointed.
Now, the EC has officially informed us to cancel all our planned voter registration campaigns after 3rd October purportedly because they now have to focus on handling the objections to the proposed re-delineation exercise.
Even when we then ask the unregistered voters to head to the nearest post office, we have often heard the inexcusable complaints of the lack of forms.
At best, the actions of the EC show that they are incompetent and abdicating their responsibilities to ensure qualified voters are able to exercise their constitutionally enshrined right to vote. At worst, they are clearly sabotaging the electoral process by denying these voters their basic rights.
This is because, younger and newer voters as a whole have no loyalty to UMNO and BN. A substantial majority of them have proven in past elections to be inclined to vote for the opposition.
We call upon the Election Commission to be serious about the registration of new voters since they have persistently refused the proposal for the automatic registration of voters. If it is unable to carry out its responsibilities on its own, then it should start using its powers to appoint thousands of AROs across the country.
The EC would do well to remember its own “mission” stated on their malware-infested website, that is “mendukung sistem demokrasi berparlimen dan menjamin hak rakyat untuk memilih wakil mereka” and “mengurus, mengawal selia dan mengendalikan pilihanraya secara bebas dan adil”. Hence it should stop acting like UMNO’s henchmen to rig the electoral outcome.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
DAP Selangor will hold an emergency state committee meeting today to discuss impact of re-delineation plans on the state's Pakatan Harapan for GE14
As analysts within DAP, political parties and think tanks across the country digest the proposed re-delineation plan by the Election Commission, it has become clear that the exercise is the most brazen attempt to gerrymander a victory for UMNO in the next general elections.
Perhaps it should not come as such a surprise in the light of the fact that the Najib administration is facing the worst political crisis in the history of the country. All surveys and studies showed Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s ratings to be the lowest ever recorded by any Prime Minister as a consequence of the 1MDB financial scandal and the impact of the GST on ordinary Malaysian’s cost of living.
If in 2013, Barisan Nasional received less than 48% of the popular vote then the only logical conclusion will be that the ruling coalition will receive lesser votes in the 14th General Election.
Hence the trump card for BN was to redraw the election constituency boundaries to the extent that BN will be assured of a thumping victory even if their popular votes continue to decline.
The simplest way of doing so would be to bundle opposition inclined voters into super-constituencies with more than 100,000 voters while breaking up hard-core pro-ruling party supporters into smaller multiple constituencies.
The clearest example was in the seat of Petaling Jaya Utara which was enlarged from 85,401 voters to 150,439 voters. The newly enlarged constituency, renamed “Damansara” is projected to achieve a super-majority of 73,533 based on the 2013 voting records, as opposed to the actual majority of 44,672.
As a result, the neighbouring constituency of Subang (renamed “Sungai Buloh”) becomes a very marginal seat with only a projected 3,037 majority as opposed on 26,719 achieved in 2013.
What we have since discovered to be even more audacious however, is the plans by the Election Commission to return the Selangor state government to BN via aggressive gerrymandering.
Based on 2013 voting patterns alone, at least seven state assembly seats will be won back outright by BN in the next election. They are Sabak, Hulu Kelang, Sementa, Selat Kelang, Pelabuhan Kelang, Sijangkang and Morib.
At the same time, at least another ten seats had their majorities vastly reduced to place them within reach of the BN candidates.
With brazen gerrymandering coupled with an aggressive campaign based on race and religious rhetoric, there is now a very real possibility that Selangor will indeed fall to BN.
The DAP Selangor state committee will meet later today discuss the findings of our studies and formulate our position as well as the next steps which we need to take to ensure that the people of Selangor will not be robbed of their mandate in the next general elections.
Perhaps it should not come as such a surprise in the light of the fact that the Najib administration is facing the worst political crisis in the history of the country. All surveys and studies showed Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s ratings to be the lowest ever recorded by any Prime Minister as a consequence of the 1MDB financial scandal and the impact of the GST on ordinary Malaysian’s cost of living.
If in 2013, Barisan Nasional received less than 48% of the popular vote then the only logical conclusion will be that the ruling coalition will receive lesser votes in the 14th General Election.
Hence the trump card for BN was to redraw the election constituency boundaries to the extent that BN will be assured of a thumping victory even if their popular votes continue to decline.
The simplest way of doing so would be to bundle opposition inclined voters into super-constituencies with more than 100,000 voters while breaking up hard-core pro-ruling party supporters into smaller multiple constituencies.
The clearest example was in the seat of Petaling Jaya Utara which was enlarged from 85,401 voters to 150,439 voters. The newly enlarged constituency, renamed “Damansara” is projected to achieve a super-majority of 73,533 based on the 2013 voting records, as opposed to the actual majority of 44,672.
As a result, the neighbouring constituency of Subang (renamed “Sungai Buloh”) becomes a very marginal seat with only a projected 3,037 majority as opposed on 26,719 achieved in 2013.
What we have since discovered to be even more audacious however, is the plans by the Election Commission to return the Selangor state government to BN via aggressive gerrymandering.
Based on 2013 voting patterns alone, at least seven state assembly seats will be won back outright by BN in the next election. They are Sabak, Hulu Kelang, Sementa, Selat Kelang, Pelabuhan Kelang, Sijangkang and Morib.
At the same time, at least another ten seats had their majorities vastly reduced to place them within reach of the BN candidates.
With brazen gerrymandering coupled with an aggressive campaign based on race and religious rhetoric, there is now a very real possibility that Selangor will indeed fall to BN.
The DAP Selangor state committee will meet later today discuss the findings of our studies and formulate our position as well as the next steps which we need to take to ensure that the people of Selangor will not be robbed of their mandate in the next general elections.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Election Commission conducts single-biggest gerrymandering exercise in the history of Malaysia to steal victory in the next General Election for Barisan Nasional
The Election Commission (EC) has officially published its proposed redelineation of electoral boundaries today. As highlighted previously, there will be no increase in parliamentary seats for the whole country, and no increase in state seats for Peninsula Malaysia.
A simple cursory review of the proposals will confirm the fears of all Malaysians that the EC has made it its primary objective to ensure Barisan Nasional (BN) victory for the Federal Government.
In the proposal, my constituency, “Petaling Jaya Utara (PJU)”, to be renamed as “Damansara”, will become the single largest constituency in Malaysia with 150,439 voters, an increase of 76.2% from the 85,401 registered voters as at the 2013 General Election.
Damansara will displace Kapar as the single largest constituency, with the latter’s number of voters reduced from 144,159 to 100,456, a reduction of 30.3%.
The discretionary treatment in the two seats epitomises the completely arbitrary and brazen gerrymandering exercise the EC is carrying out to the advantage of BN.
How can the EC justify or rationalise the increase of 76.2% of voters in my constituency, making it the largest in the country while at the same time reducing the existing largest constituency by 30%?
EC has increased the size of Damansara mainly by appending 54,902 voters from Bukit Lanjan state assembly seat, previously part of Subang (now renamed “Sungai Buloh”) parliament. As a result, the number of voters in Subang/Sungai Buloh is also reduced from 128,543 (2013) to 73,448.
There is only one reason one can deduce from the EC actions. It was to add to the majority in the seats BN is deemed unlikely to win, while reducing the majorities for seats where BN sees the opportunity to re-capture.
PJU had the 2nd highest majority of 44,672 in the 2013 general election and is in all probability deemed unwinnable by BN.
Bukit Lanjan on the other hand contributed a 17,200 vote majority to the Subang parliament overall winning majority of 26,719 by Sivarasa Rasiah of PKR in 2013.
With the proposed redelineation, Subang/Sungai Buloh will be left with a much reduced estimated majority of only 9,519 votes.
By shifting Bukit Lanjan to Damansara, the EC has made Subang a much more winnable seat for BN, despite increasing the potential majority for Damansara to a whopping 61,872 (based on 2013 results)!
The similar situation applies to Kapar, when its state seat with the largest majority, Sg Pinang (renamed “Bandar Baru Klang”) is shifted to the Klang parliamentary seat which faced an increase of voters from 97,073 (2013) to 141,025.
In doing so, Kapar, which is currently held by Manivanan Gowin of PKR becomes much more vulnerable. It’s 2013 winning majority of 23,790 is approximately halved as a result of the proposed redelineation.
The absurdity of creating a monster Damansara seat with more than 150,000 voters is even more outrageous when contrasted with other seats in Peninsula Malaysia with only a fraction of the voters.
Putrajaya remained the smallest constituency in the country with only 17,627 voters (11.7% of Damansara). Perak remains the state with the highest number of low voter seats with Lenggong at 28,078 (18.7% of Damansara), Padang Rengas at 28,727 (19.1%), Kuala Kangsar at 33,113 (22.0%), Parit at 33,638 (22.4%) and Gerik at 33,832 (22.5%).
Even within Selangor, which has 2.08 million voters and 22 parliamentary seats, the disparity is unjustifiably huge, with the smallest constituency of Sabak Bernam having only 37,126 voters (24.7% of Damansara). The discrepancy in the number of voters for constituencies within Selangor itself is repugnant, when the average number of voters per seat should be approximately 94,500.
Effectively, a vote in the redelineated Damanasara is not worth even a quarter of a vote in the above gerrymandered seats designed to give the advantage to BN.
We call upon all voters in Damansara, as well as all other affected voters in Malaysia to protest vehemently at the proposed election rigging exercise by the EC which deny them of their equal rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
A simple cursory review of the proposals will confirm the fears of all Malaysians that the EC has made it its primary objective to ensure Barisan Nasional (BN) victory for the Federal Government.
In the proposal, my constituency, “Petaling Jaya Utara (PJU)”, to be renamed as “Damansara”, will become the single largest constituency in Malaysia with 150,439 voters, an increase of 76.2% from the 85,401 registered voters as at the 2013 General Election.
Damansara will displace Kapar as the single largest constituency, with the latter’s number of voters reduced from 144,159 to 100,456, a reduction of 30.3%.
The discretionary treatment in the two seats epitomises the completely arbitrary and brazen gerrymandering exercise the EC is carrying out to the advantage of BN.
How can the EC justify or rationalise the increase of 76.2% of voters in my constituency, making it the largest in the country while at the same time reducing the existing largest constituency by 30%?
EC has increased the size of Damansara mainly by appending 54,902 voters from Bukit Lanjan state assembly seat, previously part of Subang (now renamed “Sungai Buloh”) parliament. As a result, the number of voters in Subang/Sungai Buloh is also reduced from 128,543 (2013) to 73,448.
There is only one reason one can deduce from the EC actions. It was to add to the majority in the seats BN is deemed unlikely to win, while reducing the majorities for seats where BN sees the opportunity to re-capture.
PJU had the 2nd highest majority of 44,672 in the 2013 general election and is in all probability deemed unwinnable by BN.
Bukit Lanjan on the other hand contributed a 17,200 vote majority to the Subang parliament overall winning majority of 26,719 by Sivarasa Rasiah of PKR in 2013.
With the proposed redelineation, Subang/Sungai Buloh will be left with a much reduced estimated majority of only 9,519 votes.
By shifting Bukit Lanjan to Damansara, the EC has made Subang a much more winnable seat for BN, despite increasing the potential majority for Damansara to a whopping 61,872 (based on 2013 results)!
The similar situation applies to Kapar, when its state seat with the largest majority, Sg Pinang (renamed “Bandar Baru Klang”) is shifted to the Klang parliamentary seat which faced an increase of voters from 97,073 (2013) to 141,025.
In doing so, Kapar, which is currently held by Manivanan Gowin of PKR becomes much more vulnerable. It’s 2013 winning majority of 23,790 is approximately halved as a result of the proposed redelineation.
The absurdity of creating a monster Damansara seat with more than 150,000 voters is even more outrageous when contrasted with other seats in Peninsula Malaysia with only a fraction of the voters.
Putrajaya remained the smallest constituency in the country with only 17,627 voters (11.7% of Damansara). Perak remains the state with the highest number of low voter seats with Lenggong at 28,078 (18.7% of Damansara), Padang Rengas at 28,727 (19.1%), Kuala Kangsar at 33,113 (22.0%), Parit at 33,638 (22.4%) and Gerik at 33,832 (22.5%).
Even within Selangor, which has 2.08 million voters and 22 parliamentary seats, the disparity is unjustifiably huge, with the smallest constituency of Sabak Bernam having only 37,126 voters (24.7% of Damansara). The discrepancy in the number of voters for constituencies within Selangor itself is repugnant, when the average number of voters per seat should be approximately 94,500.
Effectively, a vote in the redelineated Damanasara is not worth even a quarter of a vote in the above gerrymandered seats designed to give the advantage to BN.
We call upon all voters in Damansara, as well as all other affected voters in Malaysia to protest vehemently at the proposed election rigging exercise by the EC which deny them of their equal rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
Friday, September 09, 2016
The Royal Malaysian Police and Bank Negara must investigate latest allegations that Ambank officials actively conspired with Jho Low to launder funds into Dato’ Seri Najib Razak's personal bank accounts
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) had on 6 September 2016 made very specific allegations against Ambank Malaysia and its officials of facilitating and abetting money-laundering when billions of ringgit was transferred into the bank accounts of Dato’ Seri Najib Razak.
In making the allegations, the prestigious financial paper substantiated the claims with private conversations between senior Ambank officials with Low Taek Jho, who was carrying out the transactions on behalf of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister gave Low access to his accounts, according to investigative documents sighted by WSJ. His primary contact at AmBank was Joanna Yu, the banker he had warned via BlackBerry to communicate discreetly. Cheah Tek Kuang, a senior AmBank executive and adviser to the bank’s chairman, handled the account personally, the BlackBerry messages indicate.
On the assumption that the messages were genuine, they clearly indicated a conspiracy by the above parties to at best hide the transactions from scrutiny, and at worst, blatant masking of the illicit transactions as legitimate ones.
According to WSJ, Low sent hampers of food to Yu and lunched with her at noodle shops, according to the phone messages. He kept reinforcing the need for secrecy: “v v important no one should know in ambank besides u or cheah or get hold of statement,” one message said. “Cause if it gets on internet where funds were from then headache.”
Yu even made recommendations on which US correspondent bank will raise less questions involving the transfers. They discussed whether to use Wells Fargo & Co. or J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
“Can do JP, but may raise ques too…suspect better keep to wachovia,” Ms. Yu wrote, referring to a unit of Wells Fargo.
“Okay, wachovia then,” he replied. The transfer went through the Wells Fargo unit.
The above conversations raises major concerns of a high-level conspiracy to enable the money-laundering transactions to take place without being questioned or detected.
As the parties responsible for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Act (AMLA), the Royal Malaysian Police and particularly, Bank Negara must take immediate actions to investigate the above very serious allegations.
They must be investigated, and if found true, concrete actions must be taken to protect the integrity of our banking institutions and financial system. Otherwise, the hard-earned reputation of Bank Negara and Malaysia will take a severe beating.
Instead, Malaysia may become an infamous haven for the rich and powerful criminals to abuse our banking institutions to hide and launder their ill-gotten wealth.
In making the allegations, the prestigious financial paper substantiated the claims with private conversations between senior Ambank officials with Low Taek Jho, who was carrying out the transactions on behalf of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister gave Low access to his accounts, according to investigative documents sighted by WSJ. His primary contact at AmBank was Joanna Yu, the banker he had warned via BlackBerry to communicate discreetly. Cheah Tek Kuang, a senior AmBank executive and adviser to the bank’s chairman, handled the account personally, the BlackBerry messages indicate.
On the assumption that the messages were genuine, they clearly indicated a conspiracy by the above parties to at best hide the transactions from scrutiny, and at worst, blatant masking of the illicit transactions as legitimate ones.
According to WSJ, Low sent hampers of food to Yu and lunched with her at noodle shops, according to the phone messages. He kept reinforcing the need for secrecy: “v v important no one should know in ambank besides u or cheah or get hold of statement,” one message said. “Cause if it gets on internet where funds were from then headache.”
Yu even made recommendations on which US correspondent bank will raise less questions involving the transfers. They discussed whether to use Wells Fargo & Co. or J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
“Can do JP, but may raise ques too…suspect better keep to wachovia,” Ms. Yu wrote, referring to a unit of Wells Fargo.
“Okay, wachovia then,” he replied. The transfer went through the Wells Fargo unit.
The above conversations raises major concerns of a high-level conspiracy to enable the money-laundering transactions to take place without being questioned or detected.
As the parties responsible for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Act (AMLA), the Royal Malaysian Police and particularly, Bank Negara must take immediate actions to investigate the above very serious allegations.
They must be investigated, and if found true, concrete actions must be taken to protect the integrity of our banking institutions and financial system. Otherwise, the hard-earned reputation of Bank Negara and Malaysia will take a severe beating.
Instead, Malaysia may become an infamous haven for the rich and powerful criminals to abuse our banking institutions to hide and launder their ill-gotten wealth.
Saturday, September 03, 2016
Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar proven as the most incompetent and irresponsible Inspector-General of Police in Malaysian history
The Minister of the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan has now officially confirmed that the “Malaysian Official One” (MO1) named in the United States Department of Justice suit to seize more than US$1 billion of 1MDB-funded assets, is none other than Dato’ Seri Najib Razak.
MO1 has been identified as the party who has received proceeds amounting to US$731 million between 2011 and 2013 which were laundered by parties who have defrauded 1MDB.
With the confirmation by Datuk Seri Rahman Dahlan, Malaysians who have just celebrated our 59th Merdeka anniversary in the most subdued manner, would have hoped that the relevant authorities will finally commence actions against the Prime Minister, albeit belatedly.
However, all such hopes were immediately extinguished by Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, who gave the most incredulous and most unacceptable excuse as to why there will be no action against Dato’ Seri Najib Razak. This is inspite of the irrefutable and unrefuted evidence which has been presented by the US DOJ to the whole wide world.
“I've said this before: that whatever action taken in the US is a civil action. We don't get involved in civil suits. I don’t want to meddle in political matters. Don't drag us into politics,” he said.
How in the world is it “politics” when Malaysians ask Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to investigate the “world’s largest financial scandal” which has enriched Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s bank account by a mind-boggling US$731 million or nearly RM3 billion based on today’s exchange rates?
In fact, if there is anyone indulging in politics, it is the IGP himself, who is clearly acting to protect the Prime Minister incriminated of grand larceny and support the Barisan Nasional ruling party. The IGP is failing Malaysians by failing to act without fear or favour against all criminals, regardless of their status and positions.
Tan Sri Khalid had further added that “Let them (the US) solve the civil action. Why are you so nosy wanting the police to investigate this and that,” at a press conference at the Bukit Aman police headquarters today.
The IGP should be thoroughly ashamed of himself for dismissing the US action as a mere “civil action”. It is disgraceful that Malaysians now have to rely on the impartiality of foreign jurisdictions to recover billions of dollars stolen and laundered from Malaysians via fraudulent means in 1MDB.
Instead of springing belatedly into action to salvage Malaysia’s pride and honour, the IGP appears to be conspiring with the alleged crooks by feigning ignorance.
The US DOJ suit might be civil in nature as they were attempting to seize the laundered assets, but the allegations contained in the suit are completely criminal in nature.
Why is the police completely disinterested in investigating the fact that more than US$4 billion has been misappropriated by 1MDB and the fact that US$731 million has been pocketed by the Prime Minister? The IGP must answer as to how is such misappropriation and grand larceny not a crime under Malaysian laws?
Is not being “nosy” the job of the Malaysian police when it comes to criminal activities?
Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar’s clear cut abdication of his duties has marked himself as the most irresponsible and most incompetent in the history of Malaysia.
MO1 has been identified as the party who has received proceeds amounting to US$731 million between 2011 and 2013 which were laundered by parties who have defrauded 1MDB.
With the confirmation by Datuk Seri Rahman Dahlan, Malaysians who have just celebrated our 59th Merdeka anniversary in the most subdued manner, would have hoped that the relevant authorities will finally commence actions against the Prime Minister, albeit belatedly.
However, all such hopes were immediately extinguished by Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, who gave the most incredulous and most unacceptable excuse as to why there will be no action against Dato’ Seri Najib Razak. This is inspite of the irrefutable and unrefuted evidence which has been presented by the US DOJ to the whole wide world.
“I've said this before: that whatever action taken in the US is a civil action. We don't get involved in civil suits. I don’t want to meddle in political matters. Don't drag us into politics,” he said.
How in the world is it “politics” when Malaysians ask Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to investigate the “world’s largest financial scandal” which has enriched Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s bank account by a mind-boggling US$731 million or nearly RM3 billion based on today’s exchange rates?
In fact, if there is anyone indulging in politics, it is the IGP himself, who is clearly acting to protect the Prime Minister incriminated of grand larceny and support the Barisan Nasional ruling party. The IGP is failing Malaysians by failing to act without fear or favour against all criminals, regardless of their status and positions.
Tan Sri Khalid had further added that “Let them (the US) solve the civil action. Why are you so nosy wanting the police to investigate this and that,” at a press conference at the Bukit Aman police headquarters today.
The IGP should be thoroughly ashamed of himself for dismissing the US action as a mere “civil action”. It is disgraceful that Malaysians now have to rely on the impartiality of foreign jurisdictions to recover billions of dollars stolen and laundered from Malaysians via fraudulent means in 1MDB.
Instead of springing belatedly into action to salvage Malaysia’s pride and honour, the IGP appears to be conspiring with the alleged crooks by feigning ignorance.
The US DOJ suit might be civil in nature as they were attempting to seize the laundered assets, but the allegations contained in the suit are completely criminal in nature.
Why is the police completely disinterested in investigating the fact that more than US$4 billion has been misappropriated by 1MDB and the fact that US$731 million has been pocketed by the Prime Minister? The IGP must answer as to how is such misappropriation and grand larceny not a crime under Malaysian laws?
Is not being “nosy” the job of the Malaysian police when it comes to criminal activities?
Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar’s clear cut abdication of his duties has marked himself as the most irresponsible and most incompetent in the history of Malaysia.
Monday, August 22, 2016
The Police’s ring-fenced investigations into 1MDB points to scapegoating former Director and CEO Datuk Shahrol Halmi for the multi-billion dollar scandal
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar disclosed on Friday that the police have completed the first phase of their investigation into 1MDB, which is restricted to the five recommendations by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as ordered by the cabinet.
As pointed by DAP Parliamentary Leader, the “five recommendations” by the PAC has nothing to do with police investigations as they relate to corporate reorganisation of the heavily indebted company. For example, the PAC recommended that the 1MDB Board of Advisors be dissolved, that the Ministry of Finance assumes ownership of the property assets under the company and that 1MDB “should avoid excessive debt”.
The only request by the PAC in its report, which was not part of the five recommendations, was for 1MDB’s former Director and Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Shahrol Halmi and others who were involved to be investigated by the authorities.
This leads Malaysians to believe that the ring-fence imposed by the Cabinet and willingly accepted by the IGP, is nothing more than a strategy to place the entire blame for the multi-billion dollar scam on the shoulders of Datuk Shahrol Halmi.
It clearly appears that Datuk Shahrol will be made a scapegoat to ease the pressure on the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak who has failed to take any concrete action at all against any party for the losses suffered in what the UK Guardian named as the “world’s largest financial scandal”.
The powers that be would certainly hope that with Datuk Shahrol’s incarceration, a mere pawn in the wider scheme of things, they would be able to wash their hands off the scandal and close the lid on the ugliest chapter of Malaysia’s history.
However, by doing so, the Police would once again make complete fools of themselves, no different from the Altantuya murder scandal in 2006. Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar who were members of the elite Unit Tindakan Khas assigned to the office of the then Deputy Prime Minister Dato’ Najib Razak, were found guilty of murdering the Mongolian woman. However, no motive was ever presented by the police and the prosecution, or found by the Malaysian Courts when they were condemned to death sentences.
In 1MDB’s case, if only Datuk Shahrol were to be charged and found guilty, the similar question could be asked – what motive is there for Datuk Shahrol to carry out the multi-billion dollar global embezzlement exercise?
Datuk Shahrol, who was referred to as “1MDB Officer 2” in the US Department of Justice suit to seize US$1 billion of laundered 1MDB assets, was never disclosed as an individual beneficiary of the stolen funds.
The beneficiaries of the loot were Low Taek Jho, Riza Aziz, Khadem Al-Qubaisi and Mohammad Badawy Al-Husseiny. In addition, a “Malaysian Official 1” who could only refer to Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, received a whopping US$731 million from the embezzled proceeds.
I have no doubt that Datuk Shahrol is guilty of participating and facilitating in the massive scam to defraud ordinary Malaysians and should be charged for abetting the heinous crime. However, he is but a cog in the wheel of the 1MDB scandal. It will be the greatest travesty of justice, similar to the Altantuya murder, where the real conspirators and crooks who had benefited immensely from the crimes are let of scot free.
As pointed by DAP Parliamentary Leader, the “five recommendations” by the PAC has nothing to do with police investigations as they relate to corporate reorganisation of the heavily indebted company. For example, the PAC recommended that the 1MDB Board of Advisors be dissolved, that the Ministry of Finance assumes ownership of the property assets under the company and that 1MDB “should avoid excessive debt”.
The only request by the PAC in its report, which was not part of the five recommendations, was for 1MDB’s former Director and Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Shahrol Halmi and others who were involved to be investigated by the authorities.
This leads Malaysians to believe that the ring-fence imposed by the Cabinet and willingly accepted by the IGP, is nothing more than a strategy to place the entire blame for the multi-billion dollar scam on the shoulders of Datuk Shahrol Halmi.
It clearly appears that Datuk Shahrol will be made a scapegoat to ease the pressure on the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak who has failed to take any concrete action at all against any party for the losses suffered in what the UK Guardian named as the “world’s largest financial scandal”.
The powers that be would certainly hope that with Datuk Shahrol’s incarceration, a mere pawn in the wider scheme of things, they would be able to wash their hands off the scandal and close the lid on the ugliest chapter of Malaysia’s history.
However, by doing so, the Police would once again make complete fools of themselves, no different from the Altantuya murder scandal in 2006. Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar who were members of the elite Unit Tindakan Khas assigned to the office of the then Deputy Prime Minister Dato’ Najib Razak, were found guilty of murdering the Mongolian woman. However, no motive was ever presented by the police and the prosecution, or found by the Malaysian Courts when they were condemned to death sentences.
In 1MDB’s case, if only Datuk Shahrol were to be charged and found guilty, the similar question could be asked – what motive is there for Datuk Shahrol to carry out the multi-billion dollar global embezzlement exercise?
Datuk Shahrol, who was referred to as “1MDB Officer 2” in the US Department of Justice suit to seize US$1 billion of laundered 1MDB assets, was never disclosed as an individual beneficiary of the stolen funds.
The beneficiaries of the loot were Low Taek Jho, Riza Aziz, Khadem Al-Qubaisi and Mohammad Badawy Al-Husseiny. In addition, a “Malaysian Official 1” who could only refer to Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, received a whopping US$731 million from the embezzled proceeds.
I have no doubt that Datuk Shahrol is guilty of participating and facilitating in the massive scam to defraud ordinary Malaysians and should be charged for abetting the heinous crime. However, he is but a cog in the wheel of the 1MDB scandal. It will be the greatest travesty of justice, similar to the Altantuya murder, where the real conspirators and crooks who had benefited immensely from the crimes are let of scot free.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Shocking: the Malaysian Police limits 1MDB investigations to Public Accounts Committee (PAC) “recommendations” under Cabinet instructions
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar disclosed yesterday that the police have completed the first phase of their investigation into 1MDB, which is restricted to the five recommendations by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as ordered by the cabinet.
"I have said it before: the five recommendations from the PAC are our focus, so I do not want the police to be distracted from what was ordered for us to do, or else the focus of the investigation will deviate," he said.
First, how can the Cabinet give specific instructions to the Royal Malaysian Police on what crimes to investigate and what crimes not to investigate? Isn’t this tantamount to a clear cut case of obstruction of justice?
Secondly, how can the IGP limit police investigations to merely the 5 “recommendations” by the PAC?
Members of the PAC, especially those from Barisan Nasional will often insist in PAC meetings that the PAC is not a criminal investigation body and such investigations should be left to the relevant authorities, including the Police. Now, the Police has apparently be instructed to limit its investigations to the “recommendations” of the PAC, which was not based on a “criminal” investigation in the first place.
In fact, the Police should take cognizance that 1MDB has failed, despite repeated requests by both the PAC and the Auditor-General, to hand over its crucial overseas bank statements and verification documents. As a result, the PAC is unable to investigate the existence of wrongdoings in the state-owned investment company.
For example, the PAC could not verify the ownership of Good Star Limited which received US$1.03 billion from 1MDB as 1MDB could not provide any conclusive ownership documentation to the PAC. Furthermore, the PAC Chairman hid a Bank Negara Malaysia letter to the Committee which had disclosed that Good Star Limited was owned by none other than Low Taek Jho, or better known as Jho Low.
However, the expose by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) on the multi-billion dollar embezzlement of 1MDB’s funds overseas should prompt the Police to obtain all relevant documents to ensure an unhindered and thorough criminal probe on the matter.
Hence Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar must explain to the Rakyat as to why he has refused to investigate the multi-billion dollar 1MDB embezzlement scandal which has taken the world by storm, by restricting itself to the limited findings of the PAC, purportedly under the instructions of the Cabinet?
Isn’t the Police supposed to investigate without fear or favour, even if it were to involve the highest officials of the land? Doesn’t Tan Sri Khalid realise that there is a severe conflict of interest in the purported Cabinet instruction to restrict the Police investigations because Cabinet members might be involved in the laundered funds?
For example, the DOJ has already cited that a “Malaysian Official 1”, whom even the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Rahman Dahlan admitted is Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, has received US$731 million of the laundered funds in his personal bank account in Malaysia. Who else has benefitted from these funds?
The failure of the IGP to conduct a no-stones-unturned investigations into the “world’s largest financial scandal” which has brought shame to Malaysia only serves to confirm the suspicions of ordinary Malaysians that Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar is colluding with the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues to cover up the heinous scam which has defrauded the people of tens of billions of ringgit.
"I have said it before: the five recommendations from the PAC are our focus, so I do not want the police to be distracted from what was ordered for us to do, or else the focus of the investigation will deviate," he said.
First, how can the Cabinet give specific instructions to the Royal Malaysian Police on what crimes to investigate and what crimes not to investigate? Isn’t this tantamount to a clear cut case of obstruction of justice?
Secondly, how can the IGP limit police investigations to merely the 5 “recommendations” by the PAC?
Members of the PAC, especially those from Barisan Nasional will often insist in PAC meetings that the PAC is not a criminal investigation body and such investigations should be left to the relevant authorities, including the Police. Now, the Police has apparently be instructed to limit its investigations to the “recommendations” of the PAC, which was not based on a “criminal” investigation in the first place.
In fact, the Police should take cognizance that 1MDB has failed, despite repeated requests by both the PAC and the Auditor-General, to hand over its crucial overseas bank statements and verification documents. As a result, the PAC is unable to investigate the existence of wrongdoings in the state-owned investment company.
For example, the PAC could not verify the ownership of Good Star Limited which received US$1.03 billion from 1MDB as 1MDB could not provide any conclusive ownership documentation to the PAC. Furthermore, the PAC Chairman hid a Bank Negara Malaysia letter to the Committee which had disclosed that Good Star Limited was owned by none other than Low Taek Jho, or better known as Jho Low.
However, the expose by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) on the multi-billion dollar embezzlement of 1MDB’s funds overseas should prompt the Police to obtain all relevant documents to ensure an unhindered and thorough criminal probe on the matter.
Hence Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar must explain to the Rakyat as to why he has refused to investigate the multi-billion dollar 1MDB embezzlement scandal which has taken the world by storm, by restricting itself to the limited findings of the PAC, purportedly under the instructions of the Cabinet?
Isn’t the Police supposed to investigate without fear or favour, even if it were to involve the highest officials of the land? Doesn’t Tan Sri Khalid realise that there is a severe conflict of interest in the purported Cabinet instruction to restrict the Police investigations because Cabinet members might be involved in the laundered funds?
For example, the DOJ has already cited that a “Malaysian Official 1”, whom even the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Rahman Dahlan admitted is Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, has received US$731 million of the laundered funds in his personal bank account in Malaysia. Who else has benefitted from these funds?
The failure of the IGP to conduct a no-stones-unturned investigations into the “world’s largest financial scandal” which has brought shame to Malaysia only serves to confirm the suspicions of ordinary Malaysians that Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar is colluding with the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues to cover up the heinous scam which has defrauded the people of tens of billions of ringgit.
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Who is Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani trying to fool when he said the Government would act against those found guilty of wrongdoing in the US Department of Justice's 1MDB suit?
Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani said the government will take legal action against the individuals named in the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) civil suit related to 1MDB, if they were found guilty of wrongdoing.
He even stressed that “there will be no two ways in dealing with this matter.”
The Finance Minister’s assertion must have been joking because the statement lacked any iota of credibility.
How is Datuk Johari expecting Malaysians and the international community to believe him when there has been a complete absence of outrage from the Najib administration on the DOJ suit which the Federal Bureau of Investigations claimed “the Malaysian people were defrauded on an enormous scale”.
The DOJ claimed that 1MDB officials and their associates stole more than $3.5 billion from the fund between 2009 and 2015 and laundered at least $1 billion through the US. The fund's officials tried to conceal the fund's origins through complex transactions that involved shell companies and bank accounts located in various countries.
Despite the enormity of the scam and scandal, the Malaysian Government has shown shocking indifference to the exposé. The Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak only took pains to emphasise that it is only a civil suit and it didn’t involve him.
This was despite the fact that the DOJ suit has highlighted that a “Malaysian Official 1” had received USD731 million from the embezzled funds. The “MO1” undeniably referred to Dato’ Seri Najib Razak. In fact, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Dato Seri Rahman Dahlan even said that “only an idiot don't know who MO1 is”.
Despite all of the above substantiated allegations made by the DOJ, there have been no concrete actions taken by Malaysian authorities. There have been no developments from the Police who has purportedly been investigating the scandal for nearly two years already. We certainly didn’t hear of an arrest warrant for Low Taek Jho or Riza Aziz to answer questions, despite their being named as the parties who laundered 1MDB’s funds in the United States.
In addition, the new Bank Negara Governor, Datuk Mohammad Ibrahim has publicly washed his hands off the 1MDB scandal by declaring the 1MDB case closed despite the money laundering allegations. Former MACC Deputy Chief Commissioner, Datuk Zakaria Jaffar have even declared that the 1MDB scandal isn't MACC’s jurisdiction.
Hence who is the Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul kidding when he told reporters that action will be taken? He didn’t even have the courage as the Finance Minister II to direct Bank Negara to open money laundering allegations against all of the above implicated officials, including MO1.
In fact, why should the Malaysian Government be waiting for the DOJ suit to concluded in the US before we follow up with the necessary actions?
Given that it is Malaysian money which is stolen, shouldn’t Datuk Johari be jumping up and down demanding immediate action by our own Malaysian authorities, instead of being shamed by a foreign country?
It cannot be clearer that Datuk Johari had been quickly promoted to the Finance Minister II position to help cover up the entire shocking and shameful scandal, and to ensure that his master, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak remained unshaken by the entire global exposé.
He even stressed that “there will be no two ways in dealing with this matter.”
The Finance Minister’s assertion must have been joking because the statement lacked any iota of credibility.
How is Datuk Johari expecting Malaysians and the international community to believe him when there has been a complete absence of outrage from the Najib administration on the DOJ suit which the Federal Bureau of Investigations claimed “the Malaysian people were defrauded on an enormous scale”.
The DOJ claimed that 1MDB officials and their associates stole more than $3.5 billion from the fund between 2009 and 2015 and laundered at least $1 billion through the US. The fund's officials tried to conceal the fund's origins through complex transactions that involved shell companies and bank accounts located in various countries.
Despite the enormity of the scam and scandal, the Malaysian Government has shown shocking indifference to the exposé. The Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak only took pains to emphasise that it is only a civil suit and it didn’t involve him.
This was despite the fact that the DOJ suit has highlighted that a “Malaysian Official 1” had received USD731 million from the embezzled funds. The “MO1” undeniably referred to Dato’ Seri Najib Razak. In fact, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Dato Seri Rahman Dahlan even said that “only an idiot don't know who MO1 is”.
Despite all of the above substantiated allegations made by the DOJ, there have been no concrete actions taken by Malaysian authorities. There have been no developments from the Police who has purportedly been investigating the scandal for nearly two years already. We certainly didn’t hear of an arrest warrant for Low Taek Jho or Riza Aziz to answer questions, despite their being named as the parties who laundered 1MDB’s funds in the United States.
In addition, the new Bank Negara Governor, Datuk Mohammad Ibrahim has publicly washed his hands off the 1MDB scandal by declaring the 1MDB case closed despite the money laundering allegations. Former MACC Deputy Chief Commissioner, Datuk Zakaria Jaffar have even declared that the 1MDB scandal isn't MACC’s jurisdiction.
Hence who is the Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul kidding when he told reporters that action will be taken? He didn’t even have the courage as the Finance Minister II to direct Bank Negara to open money laundering allegations against all of the above implicated officials, including MO1.
In fact, why should the Malaysian Government be waiting for the DOJ suit to concluded in the US before we follow up with the necessary actions?
Given that it is Malaysian money which is stolen, shouldn’t Datuk Johari be jumping up and down demanding immediate action by our own Malaysian authorities, instead of being shamed by a foreign country?
It cannot be clearer that Datuk Johari had been quickly promoted to the Finance Minister II position to help cover up the entire shocking and shameful scandal, and to ensure that his master, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak remained unshaken by the entire global exposé.
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