Time to ask Paul Low, again

At least Wahid Omar, Idris Jala and former finance minister II Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah have ‘abandoned’ the present cabinet of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

One person whom I have been trying to persuade to leave the cabinet is Paul Low Seng Kuan, who is still hanging on to his ministerial post as if this was the divine decree that he received when Najib’s office first contacted him about the offer.

Sadly, as a Christian, Low has chosen to be part of a cabinet in support of Najib, even at a time when the whole world can immediately see the link between Najib and the Malaysian Official No 1 mentioned in the civil suit filed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

In the court of public opinion, one does not have to wait for the entire case to be dispensed by the court. As long as the DOJ is able to produce concrete evidence showing the money trail, that alone is sufficient for the public to know how the money had allegedly been laundered.

Between what the DOJ has revealed during its press conference in Washington DC and Najib’s long denial of the scandal, Low should be able to decide for himself who is more transparent. As a minister working within Najib’s cabinet, I want to know if Low has in fact advised Najib to own up to the scandal, or has he not?

The facts and evidences are all there on the table. Nothing that could be revealed by the DOJ was not hidden away from us. The Bible says, “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”

Perhaps, what the DOJ has disclosed this week is too shocking for Low himself, who had once shocked even the average Malaysian, when he likened too much transparency to a naked woman.

What saddens me the most is that someone can use Scripture to justify his position in cabinet, and thereafter, do all the whitewashing. At a meeting where Low attended, Low had said that Najib “is serious about fighting corruption”.

Immediately, he received a very strong response from a discerning theological professor who said that he did not honestly think so. This was way before the expose of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) by the Wall Street Journal or Sarawak Report.

As a former president of Transparency International, Low should come clean, and tell the world whether he is now able to convince Najib to own up to being the Malaysian Official No 1, so that others like DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang are not implicated.

No matter how the spinwheel is turned, it will still point to either the prime minister, the finance minister, the chairperson of the advisory board of 1MDB, the “senior official in the government of Malaysia”, “senior person of authority in 1MDB” and “relative of Riza Aziz”.

Where does Wong Kim Kong now stand?

Low has be upfront now to tell us if he had a role to play in the setting up of the well-funded Christians for Peace and Harmony Malaysia (CPHM), and naturally, the other person I want to bring to the forefront is Wong Kim Kong, who is chairperson of the organisation.

In at least one function that I attended, Wong had also defended that Najib is a good man who was trying to stamp out corruption. I wonder where does Wong now stand amidst the expose by the DOJ?

I am not against anyone or organisation in particular, but I am angry when people are pretending to be neutral and using the Christian platform in an effort to defend the indefensible or endorse a particular person.

It is such hypocrisy that has to be exposed so that the truth can prevail, but even at this juncture, I would urge that Low redeem his reputation by leaving the cabinet if he is still true to his conscience and our God.

After the DOJ’s civil suit, Najib does not appear to be able to escape the infamy his 1MDB scandal has earned him; therefore, the only right thing to do is to state your stand and dissociate yourself from him.

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STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. Mkini