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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Penang Umno division scrambles to placate Najib over 1MDB police report

Batu Kawan deputy chief Datuk Seri Khairuddin is seen talking to the media after lodging the police report against 1MDB in Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago.  – The Malaysian Insider pic, December 16, 2014.Batu Kawan deputy chief Datuk Seri Khairuddin is seen talking to the media after lodging the police report against 1MDB in Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago. – The Malaysian Insider pic, December 16, 2014.Caught in an awkward position after its deputy chief lodged a police report on the debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the Batu Kawan Umno division paid party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak a visit yesterday to explain its position.
Penang Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman said the division's committee members met Najib to state that they had no part in the police report lodged by Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan last Friday in Kuala Lumpur.
He said the division had been trying to contact Najib, who is also Prime Minister and chairman of 1MDB's advisory board, since Khairuddin lodged the report, which had prompted the police to start a probe into the company.
Zainal, who was speaking to the media at a federal housing aid programme in Kampung Sungai Star Kechil in Nibong Tebal, said the division's committee did an online search on 1MDB and found that the board's website had answers to the issues raised by Khairuddin.
"They were satisfied with the information they found. The committee said they would write to the board if they have queries of their own.
"This is good. (It shows) the government is transparent and has nothing to hide. Anyone who is not satisfied can just write a letter and ask questions," he said.
Zainal said the Batu Kawan division committee members will also talk to Khairuddin about the matter.
In his police report on Friday, 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 he lodged the report against the company, which had recorded debts of RM41.9 billion, and its board of directors after studying various reports in the national and international print media and in online media that “clearly proved” there were weaknesses in 1MDB’s management of taxpayers’ funds.
1MDB – Najib's brainchild – is Malaysia's second sovereign wealth fund after Khazanah Nasional Bhd. The company 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, a fierce critic of the board, has asked Putrajaya to explain how 1MDB benefitted Malaysians, given that it incurred a RM38 billion debt in just five years of operations.
Khairuddin, however, has denied to The Malaysian Insider that more powerful people in Umno were behind him in lodging the police report. He said there was no plot to weaken Najib and insisted that he was acting alone for the sake of public interest.
Asked if Khairuddin ever raised his concerns about 1MDB with Penang Umno before going to the police, Zainal said he never brought it up and 1MDB was not even discussed at the Batu Kawan division delegates' meeting held a few months ago.
"He never sent us any letter about his concerns. It is normal for our members to write to the state party leadership on issues they are concerned about or to share their proposals.
"It is also our practice to go through the letters. If we are unable to address the queries or issues raised by our members, we will forward them to the relevant authorities... that is how we work internally to settle matters," he said, stressing that Umno was a party that listened to its members.
Zainal said Umno would not stop its members from voicing their views or criticisms, or cover up problems so they would not be raised.
"We have procedures and internal channels for all that but in Khairuddin's case, he did not use those channels. He went directly to the police and the media," he said.
Zainal also said there was no issue as to whether Khairuddin had been prevented from speaking about 1MDB at the Umno general assembly last month.
"Each state sends three delegates to speak at the assembly. Khairuddin was not one of the chosen delegates. His name was not even nominated in the first place," he said.
After the party assembly, Dr Mahathir took Umno to task for failing to address the issue at its annual meeting, as it was of concern since it involved public funds.
On whether Khairuddin would face disciplinary action, Zainal said Penang Umno had to first study its rules and discuss whether he had breached any code of ethics in the party.
"We have to study this matter carefully first. If he went against the code of ethics, we will call him up and get him to explain. Then we will decide if he is to be sent to the disciplinary committee or not.
"He lodged a police report on a company. He did not threaten, curse or slam the party president," he said.
Meanwhile, Zainal said he would be meeting with Penang housing exco Jagdeep Singh Deo tomorrow to discuss the 15 housing projects by federal agencies JKP Sdn Bhd and Perda Regional Development Authority (Perda) that have been stalled by the state government.
The two agencies have been waiting for the local authorities to approve their planning permission applications for 9,444 homes in 15 projects since 2012. The state wants to know why some of their units are priced over RM1 million when they are supposed to be affordable homes.
It was previously reported that out of the projects' 9,444 units, 64,21% were priced under the ceiling prices set by the state government – RM250,000 for the mainland and RM400,000 for the island – while 2,447 were low cost units.
Zainal, who is also Penang Federal Action Council chairman, said he and representatives from JKP and Perda would meet Jagdeep with and were ready to alter the housing plans if Penang's conditions were reasonable.
- TMI

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