Saudi minister’s U-turn too little, too late

YOURSAY | ‘The problem with this statement is the time it took for it to come to the fore.’

Saudi foreign minister confirms donation to Najib

Negarawan: The 1MDB mega scandal is not only a major embarrassment to PM Najib Razak but also to Saudi Arabia.

It is likely that Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir was trying to help Najib out at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting.

To save Najib's face, and that of the Saudi regime in front of all the heads of Islamic states, the easiest way out is to make a statement that the funds deposited into Najib's personal accounts were "political donations".

In an interview with The New York Times in February this year, Al-Jubeir said the funds were an investment. The contradicting statements only reflect badly on Al-Jubeir's integrity and that of the Saudi regime.

Besides that, no details and evidence were provided by Al-Jubeir to substantiate his claim. In the event that the US Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation produce evidence to negate Al-Jubeir's claim, it will be a total embarrassment to the Saudis, showing that they are corrupt and unIslamic in their conduct.

Commentable: What's clear in this 38-second video is that:

1. The interview carried out by the Bernama reporter was designed to be kept as brief as possible.

2. In that brief encounter, the reporter posed a leading question that is framed to get an expected answer in return. Thus the reporter started off with "are you aware..." and naturally Al-Jubeir will answer in the affirmation "yes, we are aware so and so...".

His answer came in three parts:

1. We are aware of the donation.

2. It was a genuine donation with nothing expected in return.

3. That the attorney-general of Malaysia has thoroughly investigated the matter and found no wrongdoing.

But what he said were mere repetition of what our AG said when he cleared Najib of wrongdoing, and this fact the whole world knew too.

Is there any surprise when he said "as far as we are concerned, the matter is closed"? If it is not closed, what else is there for him to say? So then, where is the confirmation of "the donation"?

GE14Now!: The problem with this statement is the time it took for it to come to the fore. If a person is willing to donate such a colossal amount, then that person should be ever so willing to come to the defence of the embattled recipient of the donation.

What this sounds like is a whole lot of wheeling and dealing to get them to allegedly lie for the PM. Instead of helping to solve the problem, this has reduced his credibility even further.

Goldee: Please read between the lines. Al-Jubeir said the money "came" from Saudi Arabia. This we already know from the money trail.

He did not say the donation is from the Saudi government. So please don't be deceived. We are not stupid. He is playing with words.

Al-Jubeir, please show us proof and the bank transaction that Saudi government had indeed donated RM2.6 billion to our prime minister.

Mojo Jojo: Goldee, the matter may be even more convoluted than presented.

Reading the statement and watching the video, you can only conclude that the foreign minister claims to be aware of the donation, but doesn't state explicitly where the donation came from.

Now, since this response comes from the mouth of a senior Saudi official, we would automatically assume that the source of this 'donation' is Saudi Arabia. However, no one is saying that for sure, not even Al-Jubeir.

It is with this skilful diplomatic manoeuvring that determines why he is foreign minister and we are commoners.

Mushiro: Al-Jubeir cannot consider the matter closed when it was never opened in the first place. There are many questions to be answered especially with regards to income tax, Central Bank of Malaysia Act and many more.

It is baffling that Al-Jubeir did not mention a word on the claims of the attorney-general (AG) that RM2.03 billion was returned.

Grey Matter: Any government servant who receives a donation from anyone under Malaysian law has to declare it.

Najib did not declare this donation, or whatever he may call it, and has broken the law. That's a fact and a jailable offence for corruption.

Anonymous 2408981460048915: AG Mohamed Apandi Ali did not use general terms like "unidentified Middle Eastern benefactor" or "Arab donors" which the media have been using over the past months.

The AG spelled it out clearly – the donation was from the "royal family of Saudi Arabia".

Do you know what the royal family of Saudi Arabia will do if the AG's claim is not true? First, they will issue a statement to deny the claim and then they will sue Apandi.

So far, they have not done either, and I don't think they will.

Flyingeagle: Questions for Al-Jubeir:

1. When was the fund remitted to Malaysia and what was the total amount?

2. Which bank (branch) was the money sent to?

3. What were the account name and account number?

Please answer these three simple questions.

Anonymous_1375701728: Najib and the Saudi foreign minister had a bilateral talk on the sidelines. What transpired during the talk? Get to the bottom of that and you will have the answer.

Discovery: I am not really sure what make this Saudi minister did what he did. But one thing is for sure, he has now got himself embroiled in Najib's mess and he will now have to tell 10 purported lies to cover for his one lie.

Just wait and see. The show is about to begin. -Mkini