When the land deal documents of pilgrims’ fund Tabung Haji and 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) were revealed last week, they added fuel to an already hot situation surrounding 1MDB. 1MDB has been in the spotlight over its debts and murky operations with its debt of RM42 billion.
Citing the 1MDB scandal as the main factor leading to Barisan Nasional’s (BN) recent defeat in the Permatang Pauh by-election, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said, “The rakyat wants to know, not just Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The rakyat wants to know why no one has been charged, why the 1MDB board has not been sacked, and about the position of the CEO and the prime minister as adviser.”
Muhyiddin has openly criticised the government’s dealing with the 1MDB scandal and warned that the issue could explode without proper management.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been very vocal in criticising 1MDB, urging Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to step down over the mismanagement of funds at 1MDB.
Defence minister and Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein also weighed, suggesting that 1MDB appoint an independent international auditing firm to examine its accounts. BN’s component parties – MCA, MIC and Gerakan – have also joined the chorus.
In response to Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar’s statement that investigators were looking into the Official Secrets Act (OSA) against the perpetrators behind the leaked land deal documents, former attorney-general Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman has aptly raised the urgency to find out the identity of the person delegated the power to classify such documents as secret.
This time around, the issue has been questioned not only by opposition politicians, but also by Umno leaders, BN’s component parties and civil society.
With this internal pressure, coupled with external pressure by the people, Najib is under tremendous public pressure to put things right.
As Dr Mahathir put it: “Is this how Tabung Haji uses public money entrusted to it? Contributors hope for their money with Tabung Haji would be managed for their good but the money is being used to rescue 1MDB which as lost billions of ringgit.”
The 1MDB scandal and the latest land deal with Tabung Haji are causing people to lose confidence in the federal government’s administration as a whole.
Ironically, in one of his speeches in January 2010 to the 1MDB team, Najib had said, “Be bold and daring… to break new ground and do things differently.”
1MDB, a fund wholly owned by the Finance Ministry is prime minister Najib’s brainchild, and he owes us Malaysians an answer. – May 11, 2015.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
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