Senior minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz's statement on the use of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) fund to to bankroll 13th general election has left the nation in disbelief, for he merely legitimised the act of a robber, an opposition MP says.
Nazri has legitimised the act of “robbing Peter to pay Paul”, DAP Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said in a statement today.
The tourism and culture minister even thanked the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which reported the use of the 1MDB fund for the general election of 2013, for setting the record straight.
"If the report carried by WSJ is proven true, then it is good, as it shows the money was not lost . Then why do you (critics) say the money is lost? What's wrong with (Finance Ministry wholly-owned 1MDB's) money being spent on the people?" Nazri ( photo ) told Malaysiakini yesterday.
But what was exposed by WSJ also showed that the companies that benefited from 1MDB's generous acquisition offers have separately contributed to a “charity” controlled by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, said Pua, who is also DAP national publicity secretary.
The leading international financial paper further claimed that some of these donations were then channelled to activities related to the Barisan Nasional’s election campaigns.
"If the Wall Street Journal is indeed correct in its report, it means that 1MDB had outrageously overpaid Genting Bhd for its power plants, allowed Genting to make a reported extraordinary profit of RM1.9 billion on a mere RM400 million of assets," Pua said.
‘Najib should be probed for corruption’
"After the acquisition, the Genting group of companies gave out a total of RM190 million, or 10 percent of its profit, to charities, of which Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M) received at least RM25 million, according to WSJ," he noted.
"Hence, Nazri must answer. If just because up to RM190 million out of RM1.9 billion of extraordinary profits went to 'charities', is it perfectly all right for 1MDB to massively overpay for its assets?" Pua ( photo ) asked.
Worse, there is nothing in the Companies Commission (SSM) documents pertaining to YR1M, a company limited by guarantee, that it is in anyway related to the government, he said.
"Instead, YR1M looks like a private vehicle controlled entirely by the prime minister.
"Why should these allegedly ‘charitable’ deeds be handed out by this private vehicle, and not directly and transparently by the government?" he asked.
"What’s more, the WSJ further alleged that the YR1M funds were used to pay for the BN election campaign expenses and handouts," Pua said.
"Surely, ill-gotten proceeds from the government cannot be justified by their use for the BN and prime minister’s private political interests?
“Even if it goes against all ethical standards, and ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ is legitimate, as argued by the Umno leader Nazri, he does not in any way explain the money 1MDB lost, of between RM15 billion and RM25 billion out of its RM25 billion debt,” he said.
"The RM190 million ‘donation’ by Genting barely explains 1.3 percent of the total missing funds. Therefore, the minister was extremely disingenuous to claim that the WSJ report proved that 1MDB’s funds did not go missing," Pua argued.
"Indeed, based on the above, the prime minister, Genting Bhd, 1MDB and YR1M must not only be investigated by the Election Commission for committing electoral fraud as demanded by electoral reform group Bersih.
"They must also be investigated by both the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for possible embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds, criminal breach of trust (CBT) and corrupt practices," Pua added.
