I won’t retract my police report against 1MDB, says Umno man

Batu Kawan Umno division deputy chief Datuk Paduka Khairuddin Abu Hassan has no plans to retract the police report he lodged against 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and is willing to put his party post on the line if necessary.

He told Sinar Harian that he will not budge from his decision in asking the authorities to get to the bottom of the controversy surrounding the government-owned fund.

"I was contacted by the state Umno yesterday to retract the report which they said was equivalent to stabbing Umno in the back.

"Umno secretary-general (Datuk Seri) Tengku Adnan (Tengku Mansor) too called me in the afternoon and we talked about the issue for nearly an hour.

"I reiterated to them my stand that it was not going to happen even though they are all my friends," Khairuddin told the Malay daily.

He said there was no reason for him to retract the police report as it was not directed at Umno and he only wanted the police to investigate the company.

"I mentioned to them that this type of leakages has been allowed to go on for far too long and that I am doing this for the generations to come," he said.

"I did not touch on Umno, the party president or the finance minister. I only want the police to investigate, in a transparent manner, about the goings-on within 1MDB.

"The report has nothing to do with Umno. It's not back-stabbing Umno. I just want to know the truth.

"Whatever the outcome, we must accept them with an open heart. After all, the 1MDB management was confident that they are not in the wrong, so why do I need to pull back the report?" he said.

Khairuddin explained that he had decided to lodge the police report after listening to the voices from the grassroots and the general public who had continuously talked about 1MDB and expressed their concern over the huge amount of debts involved.

If Umno felt that he was an obstacle, Khairuddin told Sinar Harian, he was willing to give up his party post.

"If it comes to that, I will pray to ask for guidance and accept whatever happens.

"I want to fight on for the truth. I want to have leaders who are not corrupted. I want Umno to be loved and accepted by all, with leaders who are sincere and understand what the party really stands for," he told the Malay daily.

In his police report recently, Khairuddin had called for a “detailed and comprehensive” investigation, urging authorities to interrogate 1MDB’s directors and representatives of any company that might be implicated in its scandals.

He said the report was done after studying various reports in national and international print media and online media that “clearly showed” there were weaknesses in 1MDB’s management of taxpayers’ funds.

Khairuddin had also said he would lodge another report against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also the finance minister, if no action was taken.

Yesterday, Tengku Adnan had urged Khairuddin to retract his police report against 1MDB.

Astro Awani reported Tengku Adnan as saying that Khairuddin's action was not the party's stand nor that of Penang Umno.

1MDB is Malaysia's second sovereign wealth fund after Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

The company, which is Najib's brainchild, had recently come under much scrutiny after several opposition leaders highlighted the fund's massive debts, dubious land deals and secrecy over its transactions.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, also one of 1MDB's fiercest critics, asked Putrajaya to explain how 1MDB benefitted Malaysians, as it had incurred RM38 billion in debts within just five years of its operations.

1MDB had responded to the police report, saying it was confident the report had no legal basis.

"We welcome any investigation into our affairs and the opportunity to rebut malicious allegations,” it had said in a statement.

- TMI