UPDATED It looks like corruption is becoming de rigueur in Malaysia, with Prime Minister Najib Razak setting the example for his Cabinet to follow. If the allegations against him are true, then Najib must be prosecuted and given a deterrent sentence.
Not only did the 59-year-old leader abuse his power, but he must have disappointed a lot of Malaysians when they learned on Friday that the scion of the country's most prominent political family was 'cheap' enough to pass off the bill for his daughter's engagement party to the ordinary folk.
"This is not a small matter. It may be just RM409,767, but it signifies the lax attitude of the government, starting from the PM to his cabinet ministers who use taxpayers' money for the personal," PKR strategy director Rafizi told a much-awaited press conference on Friday.
Rafizi backed up his claim with a copy of the banquet order from Shangri La Hotel, which did the catering for the engagement party held at the Seri Perdana, the PM's official residence. The invoice for RM409,767 was billed to the Prime Minister’s Department.
Tip of the iceberg
It is not the first expense related to Najib's daughter, Nooryana Najwa, who married the nephew of a powerful Kazakh leader last year. During an official visit there in June, Najib and wife Rosmah Mansor had allegedly taken with them scores of personal guests to attend the Kazakh leg of Nooryana's engagement.
The guests are believed to have traveled first class as part of the official entourage and the expense was queried in Parliament. The foreign ministry was forced to admit that the traveling bill came up to a whopping RM1.1 million.
Lavish spending has been a hallmark of the Najib administration. Not only has Rosmah hogged the international headlines for the wrong reasons with her shopping sprees, her collection of Birkin handbags and a USD24 million diamond ring, Najib and family have been caught sneaking off for a private holiday in Perth on Malaysia's National Day instead of celebrating the occasion with the people at home.
Worse still, the Najibs thought nothing of using the government's private jet plan to ferry themselves and their guests to the Australian state. And when they were caught red-handed, they tried to insist that they had flown there for an official event for Malaysian students and Najib had given an "awe-inspiring" speech. But so unpopular were the Najibs that the students there immediately rubbished the claims on Facebook and revealed further 'dirt' on the first family.
"This could well be the tip of the ice-berg. There should be a full probe and accounting to the people of the way the Prime Minister's Office is spending its funds. Vague replies with a lump-sum are not acceptable. There should detailed breakdowns. These are simple and basic checks and balances that should have long ago been put in to safeguard the people's interest," said Rafizi.
The Kazakh connection
But it is in Kazakhstan that all eyes are now on. It was recently revealed that the embattled directors of the National Feedlot Centre had bought a RM1.7 million 'apartment' to be used as its office in Almaty, a southern Kazakh city.
The NFC directors are the husband and children of Umno Women's minister Shahrizat Jalil. They have been accused of abusing their power and corrupting using a RM250 million government soft loan to gain personal loans to buy super-luxury condos in Bangsar, Singapore and now it appears, Kazakhstan.
Yet the loan agreement specifies that utilization of the funds is to be for the development of the cattle breeding project - to establish and operate “a National Feedlot Centre to be consistent with the Government of Malaysia’s policy of developing, promoting and nurturing the production of beef and beef products…”
"Based on the loan agreement, NFCorp is certainly not meant to be raising cattle in, or acquiring meat from Kazakhstan, much less buying an 'apartment' there," DAP MP for PJ Utara Tony Pua had said in a statement out on Thursday.
Najib witnessed the signing of about 5 memoranda of understanding in Kazakhstan. One of these relates directly to NFC striking a deal with a Kazakh party for the purpose of importing beef to Malaysia.
"He cannot escape, the buck stops with him. In the Kazakh-NFC case, he must come clean. How can he as PM and Finance minister endorse an agreement that contravenes the NFC's loan conditions, which are in the first place meant to safeguard the interest of the Malaysian people. This is public money we are talking about. The same goes with the RM409,767 bill for his daughter's reception in Putrajaya. It looks like we are being charged for every single thing, big or small and it is not only morally wrong, it is illegal. Corruption is illegal, it cannot be condoned," said Rafizi.
Malaysia Chronicle
Am watching & speaking as a neutral, impartial 3rd party, in clean & democratic New Zealand: Call for the resignation & arrest of UMNO and MACC leaders NOW. Twitter quote: ‘Mubarak cried and resisted leaving the helicopter that took him to prison. Why do dictators love to act like big babies’ Let this, Gaddaffi & Saddam etc be a warning to others. Impeachment is long overdue. Scorpene scandal is only the tip of the iceberg. Think, before the arrival of internet media, twitter & blogs, how much has been plundered, squandered and hidden by Sarawak’s PBB & KL’s UMNO. Malaysia has become a big laughing stock. Howard Zinn: “….…Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves…(and) the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem.” Don’t tolerate another day even another hour!
ReplyDeleteRM3 mil for Najib-Rosmah's trip but official plane also landed in Milan & Dubai -the capitals of super-luxury goods. Mahathir’s sons are directors of 200 companies and drive some of the most expensive cars in the world? eg the Ferrari Enzo & the RM5.5million Bugatti Veyron…Sarawak’s Taib 31 yrs in power, now a multi-billionaire: ….. Hell is awaiting ! Many natives in Sarawak had their land grabbed from them, many don’t even have electricity & good drinking water.
ReplyDeleteTwitter quote: ‘Mubarak cried and resisted leaving the helicopter that took him to prison. Why do dictators love to act like big babies’ Let this, Gaddaffi & Saddam etc be a warning to others.
You call 1Malaysia when: 1)You practice extreme discrimination & apartheid, eg: when almost 100% of National Oil Petronas’employees are Malay, while other races are 50% of the population (more in Sarawak & Sabah), when President Obama’s black ethnicity comprises only 14% of US population. 2) When Chinese & Indians & Dayaks are the last to get University entry of gov’t jobs. 3). You PM spent RM3 million on a trip to Dubai, Milan (super luxury goods’ capitals) when the natives in Sarawak lack decent roads, electricity or drinking water. 4) You tortured Opposition’s Teoh B H to his death over an alleged few thousand dollars in the early hours before his wedding, while Scorpene costs in all a few billion RM$ with a large chuck for kickback & subsequent dynamite murder of a Mongolian lover & aide, then your head culprit goes scot-free into London’s luxury living….the list is endless. The most nauseating (vomiting) regime in the world now. Am speaking as a neutral 3rd party in NZ - rated among the top 3 in the world for transparency and democracy.
ReplyDeleteYour PM calls ‘1Malaysia’, when: A) Sabah’s Musa, NFC’s Shahzirat….& Sarawak’s Taib, in power 31 yrs & stole RM billions & one son’s divorce settlement alone is RM400million….while Sarawak natives lack roads, electricity & drinking water. B) UMNO’s corruption & mismanagement cost the country $100 + billions (not millions, billions) as estimated by overseas financial analysts. C) They make up stories to blackmail Anwar, the Opposition, the NGOs & Bersih…for decades. D) For 55 years UMNO & BN fooled and fleeced the nation with controlled media, national election resources, gerrymandering, vote buying, rigging & manipulated elections, even using illegal migrants as voters….the list of injustice & crimes is endless...Tolerate not another day, not even another hour! Call for the arrests and trials of UMNO, BN, PBB, & MACC leaders now. In the democratic West they won’t last 1 month, let alone 55 years. Anwar, PAS, Nurul, Ambiga, Lim G E etc, will form a clean, democratic, less racist but more progressive economy like Singapore, Korea & Germany.
ReplyDeleteRobbing the Rakyat, multimillion kick-backs, deceiving the electorate, leaking strategic defence secrets. High level treason!
ReplyDeleteDynamite-blasting of an aide & ex-lover, then the master-culprit was allowed to go scot-free to the UK. The total costs of the Scorpenes ran into multi-billions, not millions; while Teoh B H was grilled to death over an alleged few thousand ringgits. Even a kid can see the total lack of morals in these heinous crimes. You think God ‘s punishment won’t come to you like He did to Ceausescu, Mussolini, Saddam, Gaddaffi, Mubarak and soon Assad? Just watch…