Najib must GO,says Member of Parliament, but he won’t

http://www.malaysiakini.com

UMNO may be seeing an internal revolt over Lembaga Tabung Haji’s (LTH) purchase of debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) land but Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is still mum on the issue.

All this while LTH this morning scrambled to diffuse the firestorm by promising to quickly sell off the land it had purchased from 1MDB to a third party at a profit. However, DAP’s Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari said heads must still roll despite the damage control, including that of Najib.

“The buck ultimately stops with the number one man. To begin with, the entire debacle would not even have occurred had it not been for 1MDB’s misadventures, resulting in the sovereign fund racking up a massive debt of RM42 billion, which it now appears unable to repay.

“Therefore, responsibility lies on the shoulders of the man who is not only chairman of 1MDB’s board of advisers, but also the person responsible for appointing all the key personnel in both LTH and 1MDB.

“Najib (photo) must bear the ultimate responsibility by resigning with immediate effect,” he said in a statement today.

Furthermore, Zairil said the entire LTH leadership including Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, who is also Baling MP, must step down.

“There is no doubt that the entire senior management and board of directors of LTH have failed to carry out not only their fiduciary duties as managers of public funds, but also as trustees of a great religious duty.

“In plain and in no uncertain terms, those responsible must be made to pay the price,” he said. On Wednesday, rumours were circulated online about LTH purchasing 1MDB’s land in a bid to help the cash-strapped company which has accumulated a staggering debt of RM42 billion. It was later confirmed that LTH had paid RM188.5 million for 1.56 acres of the 70-acre Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) land owned by 1MDB.1MDB had purchased the entire 70 acres from the government for a mere RM194.1 million. The LTH is a savings fund contributed mostly by Muslim village folk for their future pilgrimage to Mecca.

Aside from being viewed as a bailout, this land purchase was also controversial as several LTH top leaders were also board members of 1MDB, giving rise to allegations of conflict of interest.