The frantic attempts of both the press secretary of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and 1MDB to placate the mounting anger of the Malaysian citizenry is pathetic and frivolous.
Both have emphatically stressed that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the bi-partisan Public Account Committee (PAC) have found no crime was committed. But both have conveniently forgotten to note that the entire nation, nay the entire world, are aware of the damning expose of the plethora of alleged crimes committed, as per the leaked auditor-general's report.
Now, most devastating is the fact that the attorney-general of the United States, Loretta Lynch, made it official yesterday that after over a year of thorough investigation, at least US$3.5 billion (RM14.16b) belonging to the Malaysian people has been stolen.
Inter alia, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the US Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Internal Revenue Service (the US tax revenue agency) have concluded that the Malaysian people were robbed.
They have conclusively arrived at their findings that the co-conspirators “laundered their stolen funds through a complex webs of opaque transactions and fraudulent shelf companies and bank accounts around the world including Switzerland, Singapore and the United States..” The word ‘stolen’ was repeated many times.
It is an open secret now that Prime Minister Najib, who created and led 1MDB, worked hand-in-glove with flamboyant businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low. The US Justice Department report listed three other 1MDB officials who were involved in this alleged fraud and the ‘Malaysia Official No 1', irrespective of who the person is.
In a strange and weird move, when all avenues of imploring authorities including the attorney-general, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Bank Negara Malaysia, the police and finally the Council of Rulers, l have no qualms to implore the supreme council of Umno (majlis tertinggi Umno), their Members of Parliament and the entire Umno fraternity, to act in unison to save the party they claimed to love and more importantly, to save the nation and the rakyat of Malaysia.
If you disappoint and fail the nation again, rest assured that you will be assigned to the dustbin of history as the alleged ‘Traitors of the Nation’ - Pengkhianat Negara.
After all efforts of debunking and unseating the PM have failed, the supreme council is the last bastion as to get rid of Najib, the man who allegedly single-handedly usurped all powers and is allegedly responsible for bringing this failing nation into a tail-spin and the abyss of self-destruction.
The nation and its leaders from both sides of the political divide must patriotically be committed to an immediate comprehensive reform agenda and turn around the nation to become both a vibrant and functional democracy.
Time to rise above partisan and self-interest, and be counted as the true patriots, regardless of our ideoligical conviction and political persuasion.
DR DZULKEFLY AHMAD is strategy director for Parti Amanah Negara.
