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Key Highlights
‘Arab donation’ against opposition
Zaid wants 3R, Sedition Act binned
MACC report lodged on DRT issue
‘Arab donation’ versus opposition
Former premier Najib Abdul Razak claimed that he initially kept part of an alleged Arab donation amounting to US$681 million in 2013 to thwart another attempt by the opposition to topple the government.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court heard this when MACC investigating officer Nur Aida Arifin confirmed excerpts of a 2018 MACC statement recorded from Najib during its investigation into the 1MDB scandal.
During deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib’s re-examination, the 49th prosecution witness read out the statement given to the MACC over the inflow of US$681 million of purported Arab donations into the accused’s bank account in 2013.
“After the completion of GE13 (in 2013), the funds could not be finished as the expenditure was sufficient. The amount remaining after the general election I had kept temporarily in the account as a contingency in case there is an extraordinary requirement, such as the Sept 16, 2008, incident where BN lawmakers were stolen (party-hopping), whereby the opposition tried to buy them out.
“Therefore, I was forced to be ready financially despite me not agreeing with this practice, due to fear that the opposition may try again,” read Najib’s statement.
Najib’s defence team have always contended that the funds were not money from 1MDB but rather from Saudi royalty for political purposes.
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Zaid wants 3R, Sedition Act binned
Arguing that most Malaysians are mature enough to discuss issues subjects that are deemed sensitive, former law minister Zaid Ibrahim called on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to scrap the 3R policy concerning race, religion and royalty as well as the Sedition Act.
He described the measures against 3R as the “most idiotic policy I have ever encountered in my life”.
The former minister raised this issue in relation to a case where a bodyguard of a royal was accused of assaulting a disabled e-hailing driver.
Zaid also concurred with PKR lawmaker Hassan Abdul Karim that a criminal investigation is not negotiable.
“It’s heartening to have an MP like Hassan always defending the sovereignty of the law. But in our country, the law only works or operates in limited spaces,” he added.
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MACC report lodged on DRT issue
Urimai has urged the Selangor government to cancel the deals of all companies appointed for the demand-responsive transit (DRT) pilot project in the state and call for an open tender process.
“Our government leaders always talk about transparency but why is there no open tender for this project?
“This is a serious matter as it involves Selangor taxpayers’ money,” said the party’s Selangor and Federal Territories Urimai coordinator K Gunasekaran.
He lodged a report with the Selangor MACC on the matter.
On Wednesday, Selangor Investment, Trade and Mobility Committee chairperson Ng Sze Han said the involvement of Asia Mobility Technologies Sdn Bhd (Asia Mobiliti) in the proof of concept (POC) for the DRT pilot project was through a request for proposal (RFP) and not direct negotiation as alleged.
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Views that matter
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Other news that matter
A group of pro-Palestine NGOs is calling on Malaysia to withdraw its participation in an upcoming naval exercise to protest Israel’s involvement in the same event.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court has ordered the police and government to pay RM338,000 in damages to the family of S Balamurugan over his custodial death in 2017.
The proposal paper addressing issues concerning the Professional Advanced Degree Training Programme or Parallel Pathway for cardiothoracic surgery will be presented by Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad to the cabinet on June 5.
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