COMMENT | Why a re-visit? Why a walk down the past? It is an examination of the past and comparing it to the current. It is a reminder of the grim periods that our society went through. It is a tribute to many who stood up despite the tribulations and personal loss of liberty.

As we approach yet another election, it should serve as a reminder of that tumultuous period when every institution of the state was used – all to protect one man and his coterie of benefactors. Many lost their jobs and pensions, others were cold-storaged, and this is a tribute to the few who stood up to the authoritarian yet illegal methods used to suppress the truth.

In July 2015, the Wall Street Journal dropped a bombshell which reverberated around the world. Today, seven years later, the issue continues to make the headlines although the perpetrator is behind bars.

The newspaper reported that 1MDB investigators discovered five separate deposits from two sources that were made into then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s accounts.

The largest two transactions, it said, were for US$621 million (RM2.3 billion) and US$61 million allegedly made in March 2013, shortly before the 2013 general election.

A further transfer of RM42 million, purportedly made into Najib’s account at the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015, is believed to have come from SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1MDB that was in 2012 parked under the Finance Ministry that Najib heads, WSJ said.

Almost immediately, Najib announced he would file a suit against the US newspaper but nothing...