A Cabinet Snub For 1MDB?

A Kadir Jasin

A BIG thanks and kudos to the Cabinet if indeed it had rejected a request by 1Malaysia Development Berhad for an RM3-billion financing from the government.

Reports by online media said it had rejected the proposal at its weekly meeting on Wednesday by not approving the minutes of the previous week's meeting on the subject.

The Malaysian Insider news portal quoted sources as saying that the Cabinet rejected the proposed RM3-billion cash injection.

It quoted other unidentified sources as saying the rejection was a blow to the wholly-owned government strategic investment company.

I am yet to receive response to two SMS messages I sent to a minister and press secretary to a senior minister seeking confirmation on the Cabinet decision.

If the online media reports are true, the Cabinet action could be seen as signalling that the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak no longer holds sway, at least not on the issue of 1MDB.

This is a huge setback for him. I would not, at this point, speculate that there is an emerging revolt against his leadership.

1MDB is his creation. He is the chairman of its advisory board. The company is owned by Finance Ministry and Mohd Najib is also its minister.

This could add further burden on the already beleaguered Prime Minister. Only weeks ago he gloated in a special TV3 interview about the soundness of 1MDB’s investment.

In a separate development, the chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament, (Datuk) Nur Jazlan Mohamed, has called upon the Auditor General's Department to carry out an immediate audit of 1MDB.

He was reported as saying that audit should be made to determine the source of the RM2-billion 1MDB used to settle loans with the local banks (Maybank and RHB Capital), its proposed plan to borrow RM3-billion from the Treasury, its dealings with PetroSaudi International (PSI) and whether the money it parked in Cayman Islands has been brought home.

Meanwhile, Mohd Najib Razak is reported to be taking legal action against PAS party organ Harakahdaily over a report that linked his stepson, Riza Abdul Aziz, to 1MDB.

The Utusan Online reported that a letter of demand was handed over to Harakahdaily's managing editor Dr Rosli Yaakub yesterday. Mohd Najib was quoted as saying that he was suing to protect his family.

Wallahuaklam.