![Former Bar Council President Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan speaks during the GBM Summit on Civil Society at KLSCAH, Kuala Lumpur. Ambiga says speaking out on the controversy surrounding 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and its dealings does not negate the failure of the leadership to address other important issues. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Kamal Ariffin, May 9, 2015.](http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/assets/uploads/articles/AMBIGA_SREENEVASAN_GMB_SUMMIT_KLSCAH_20150509_TMIKAMAL_ARIFFIN_05.jpg)
Speaking out on the controversy surrounding 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and its dealings does not negate the failure of the leadership to address other important issues, prominent lawyer and social activist Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan said today.
The former Bersih 2.0 chairperson told a forum organised by Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM) at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall today, that ministers have failed to speak up on a host of other pertinent issues, including racial and religious issues.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has of late voiced concerns regarding the dealings of debt-ridden 1MDB, a brainchild of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Other prominent members of the ruling coalition, including Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein and Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, have also weighed in on the matter.
"Ministers are speaking up on 1MDB, but the government has the duty to speak up against any wrongdoing," said Ambiga.
"They have failed to speak up on racial and religious issues, and this is nothing but a failed leadership.”
1MDB attracted more controversy this week over a land deal with pilgrims fund Lembaga Tabung Haji, which saw Tabung Haji pay RM188.5 million for a plot of land in 1MDB's Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) development.
Ambiga also said that the government does not "respect" its citizens but instead displays "arrogance".
"Our leaders do not even have an ounce of respect for the citizens. We are the ones who put them into power and what do we get in return? Arrogance, as if they deserve to be there," she said.
"You are a public servant. Everyone has a right to question you. The extent of this arrogance must stop."
She used a similar label for the police, following Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar’s remarks that the Malaysian Bar should not question the police's conduct.
She drew comparisons with recent elections in the United Kingdom, saying that she felt "jealous" upon watching how polls there were conducted.
"They could vote, go back home and have a cup of coffee. But we had to stay back and guard our ballot boxes," she said, in a reference to incidents during the 13th general election in 2013 where ballot boxes were guarded by the public up until midnight amid alleged attempts to tamper with votes.
- TMI
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