Perkasa wants RCI set up to probe DoJ’s claims

Without a royal commission of inquiry, all sorts of allegations will arise and this will confuse the public, says Perkasa president.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malay rights pressure group Perkasa has again called for the formation of a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to probe the allegations made by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ).

Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali said only with an RCI can the scandals surrounding state firm 1MDB be unfolded and the country’s name be cleared.

“The 1MDB issue came back into the limelight when DoJ filed a suit to seize assets that were allegedly bought using 1MDB funds.

“So Perkasa is urging the government to form an RCI and investigate this matter.

“Without it, all sorts of allegations would arise and this will confuse the public,” he told a press conference here today.

In its latest court filings in California, the DoJ is seeking to seize US$540 million (RM2.3 billion) in assets, including artworks, jewellery and film rights believed to have been paid for with funds siphoned from 1MDB.

Last July’s civil forfeiture suit had also sought to recover all the assets including but not limited to the Park Lane Hotel in New York, a luxury hotel in Beverly Hills, condominiums in New York, a private jet, expensive works of art, as well as the financing of Martin Scorsese’s movie “The Wolf of Wall Street”, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio.

The value of the assets sought by the DoJ now totals US$1.8 billion (RM7.7 billion).

The DoJ had also charged that from 2009 through 2015, more than US$4.5 billion (RM19 billion) belonging to 1MDB had been diverted by high-level officials of the fund and their associates.

Meanwhile, when asked about suggestions for an emergency Parliament session to be held to discuss the DoJ’s allegations, Ibrahim said that wouldn’t solve anything.

“(But) if we form an RCI, the members are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“When investigations are done by the RCI, the findings can be revealed to the public and the people themselves can evaluate.”

Ibrahim also said that Perkasa would bring the suggestion to the Council of Rulers’ attention as 1MDB matters involved the interests of the public and the country.

“Before this, we sent a letter to the prime minister. Maybe this time we’ll send it to the Council of Rulers for the benefit of our country.” -FMT