COMMENT When the Malaysian attorney-general, Mohamed Apandi Ali, decided that his office would not cooperate with his counterpart in Switzerland to carry out further investigation into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), it further casts a shadow on Malaysia’s integrity.

In the eyes of the world, we appear to have something to hide, especially after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has already revealed the outcome of their investigation.

Therefore, for someone like Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low to be speaking on good governance in an upcoming seminar would make us a further laughingstock. He should be preaching that to the people who are supposed to champion it, but failed to live to public expectations.

We all know

It has already been established how the money has allegedly been siphoned out of 1MDB and ended up in several accounts, including those of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his stepson, Rizal Aziz.

In fact, the entire document from the DOJ is available online for anyone to read. I also understand that the parliamentary public accounts committee’s audit of 1MDB is available on Sarawak Report’s website. However, this whistleblower’s site has been blocked by the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

We are grateful to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan who identified Najib as the Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) with no qualms. This was told to the whole wide world. I wonder if Rahman is even ashamed of his own revelation?

Apandi’s rejection of Switzerland’s two requests for Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) in connection with the 1MDB case, despite vowing to cooperate, clearly shows the Swiss authorities have hit a nerve which could further implicate certain important people.

My question is: are we now seen as protecting the fugitives? Apandi’s response to the Swiss authorities will only trigger further suspicion within the country, and place Malaysia once again on the international media.

If we do not have anything to hide, why are we so reluctant in not going after the culprits behind the 1MDB scandal?

For example, Singapore is now looking for the fugitive, Jho Low, but what kind of cooperation is the Malaysian side offering to their Singaporean counterparts?

As a nation, we should be concerned about who was involved in siphoning off so many billions of ringgit from the state investment arm. The decree by the Conference of Rulers to expedite the investigation has not been upheld, and when foreign investigators request for MLA, we are turning down the opportunity to get down to the bottom of things.

Where can Najib hide his face?

Najib is prime minister of this great nation. He is also the chairperson of the advisory board, and according to 1MDB’s memorandum and articles of association, no major investment can be made without his approval.

Najib is also the finance minister.

We know billions of ringgit have gone into two fictitious companies registered in British Virgin Islands, and have seen them gone missing.

Former finance minister II Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah has raised some important questions in the August house recently.

Yet, there are no answers from Najib. We want to know his answers before we will ever decide to cast another vote for his party and the coalition that he represents.

He has to tell Apandi to cooperate with the Swiss authorities so that we will not be viewed in a bad light.

The Swiss authorities have said that they are willing to share the outcome of its investigations with the Malaysian authorities to help in their own investigations.

At least Apandi should reveal the full content of the MLA; otherwise, the local media should obtain a copy from the Swiss authorities in the interest of the public.

The Swiss Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) has vowed that it would continue its investigations by working with other countries involved in the case. The DOJ has filed its civil suit to confiscate assets worth over US$1 billion, and Singapore has charged one of its bankers and closed down two banks, but where are we in our investigations?

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.