Rafizi: Najib giving non-answers on 1MDB

MP for Pandan says Najib’s ‘copy and paste’ answers on 1MBD are an insult to the House.

KUALA LUMPUR: In an outburst that clearly showed his total exasperation with the prime minister, MP for Pandan Rafizi Ramli said he felt insulted by Najib Razak’s “non-answers” to every question posed on the 1Malaysia Development Board or 1MDB.

“This is the same answer to all questions. It’s safe to conclude that Datuk Seri Najib will not give a single answer regarding 1MDB or details of the funds.”

He added, “I don’t want to go into the details on the kind of insult this is to the House, when we have a Prime Minister who’s not willing to answer any question.

Rafizi said this in regard to questions posed to Najib pertaining to Bridge Partners, a firm that received 1MDB funds that were parked in the Cayman Islands.

Calling the PM’s vague answers “worrisome”, Rafizi said he and other MPs were determined to get to the bottom of the business dealings of 1MDB.

“More importantly, I will write to the Governor of Bank Negara, Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz today, because when funds are transferred and details are not disclosed, it could be investigated under the Anti-Money Laundering Act,” he said.

Rafizi also expressed his frustration that even after careful deliberation, it was difficult to bring about any form of accountability to 1MDB legally as most transactions were conducted on a “willing seller-willing buyer basis” although it could be argued the transactions did not benefit the public.

“Bank Negara, if it is indeed strict about the Anti-Money Laundering Act, should have the statutory declaration and information about the channeling of the funds, because it is not a small amount of money. It’s RM 7 billion.”

Rafizi also said 1MDB had money trails in Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland that he would pursue until he got some concrete answers.

He said, “Along with that, we will also report to the authorities of other nations that 1MDB has funds in or agents managing these funds.”

He cautioned that if BNM also responded in the same fashion as the PM, he and his team would take their investigations to the next level by engaging the relevant authorities in Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland in their bid to prove money laundering did take place under the guise of investments under 1MDB.