Prime Minister Najib Razak has been blasted for absenting himself from the coming parliamentary session starting Monday to address mounting issues surrounding 1MDB.
Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang said Najib should not be making a working visit to the UK from tomorrow until May 18 amidst an international probe into dealings that could involve the Finance Ministry sovereign fund.
"For the first time, SRC International is now linked to the 1MDB scandal.
"Also for the first time, international media reports are linking Najib’s RM4.2 billion 'donations' to 1MDB, as well as linking 1MDB’s multibillion USD payments [...] to Najib beneficiaries.
"Instead of standing up in Parliament to give full and satisfactory accounting for the exploding 1MDB global financial scandal, including the presentation of a White Paper on 1MDB and setting aside three days for a full parliamentary debate on 1MDB and the PAC report on 1MDB, Najib has chosen to abscond overseas.
"This is the height of prime ministerial irresponsibility and negligence," said Lim in a statement today.
"Is there another Commonwealth parliamentary democracy where the prime minister deliberately plan his overseas programme so that he could play truant from Parliament?" he asked.
"How many times has Najib commited such an irresponsible prime ministerial act in his six years as prime minister?"
Trip 'deliberate'?
On Thursday Singapore levelled an additional charge against former private banker Yeo Jiawei, revealing SRC International's link to the 1MDB saga.
This prompted Lim to call for Parliament to urgently address the 1MDB issue by tabling the auditor-general’s report, witheld during the last session, for a White Paper and for the public accounts committee (PAC) to re-open investigations.
The coming session will convene from May 16 to May 26.
Lim accused the prime minister of deliberately planning the visit "to enable him to avoid parliamentary responsibility and accountability with Parliament".
He added if the premier wanted to go to the UK he should have taken the opportunity to go a day earlier to attend the Global Anti-Corruption Summit in London hosted by the UK government.
"But Najib’s absence from the (summit) was probably a blessing in disguise for Malaysia, for it would otherwise have been an even more humiliating experience for Najib and Malaysia," quipped the veteran DAP leader. -Mkini
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