Pua: Jho Low told the truth on Najib, 1MDB

The DPM must be given full authority over the investigation into the 1MDB scandal.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Opposition has demanded that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak recuse himself immediately from any further involvement with the 1MDB investigations and decision-making in the Company. Instead, it wants Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to be given full authority immediately over the direction of investigation of 1MDB.

In addition, the Opposition wants the Auditor-General to report directly to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over its findings, entirely bypassing Najib to avoid any “potential conflict of interest”.

Finally, all major investments, restructuring and business decisions of 1MDB henceforth, must be approved directly by the Cabinet, and not the Prime Minister alone, as dictated in the company’s Memorandum & Articles of Association (M&A).

“Where necessary, the M&A must be immediately amended to ensure that a proper set of corporate governance with the necessary check and balance is adopted by 1MDB,” said Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua. “Unfortunately, Jho Low told the truth that the Prime Minister was responsible for the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal.”

He recalled what Jho Low had told several media not so long ago: “Are you telling me the Prime Minister doesn’t make his own decisions? That the Ministry, the Finance Minister, who is the Prime Minister – and there are only two to three people in the Finance Ministry that sign off on shareholder resolutions under law – that none of them… that they just signed without evaluating it?”

Pua, who is also DAP National Publicity Secretary, was commenting on the discovery that under 1MDB’s M&A, all the responsibility over the colossal RM42 billion of debt and billions of ringgit of losses and missing cash falls directly and entirely on the shoulders of the Prime Minister. “He not only signed off all decisions, he was involved every step of the way,” said Pua. “Najib was directly implicated in the transactions which took place in 1MDB.”

“He must immediately stop participating in all on-going and future investment, restructuring and business decisions of the company until all investigations were completed.”

He argued that this would prevent any attempt by the Prime Minister to effect any transactions to cover up any incriminating misdeeds which took place in the past. “If the Prime Minister were to continue his involvement in the investigations as well as 1MDB’s business decisions, the integrity and trustworthiness of any reports produced will be questioned and the public interest in the matter will be severely jeopardized.”

The discovery of 1MDB’s M&A dated 11 August 2009 exposed Clause 117 which placed absolute powers over the company’s decisions in the hands of the Prime Minister.

Clause 117 dictates that the Prime Minister must give his “written approval” for any of 1MDB’s deals, including the firm’s investments or any bid for restructuring.

This includes “any financial commitment (including investment), restructuring or any other matter which is likely to affect the guarantee given by the Federal Government of Malaysia for the benefit of the company, national interest, national security or any policy of the Federal Government of Malaysia”.

Other matters which need the Prime Minister’s written approval are amendments to the company’s M&A as well as all appointments and removal of directors and senior management team of 1MDB.