LUXURY properties, pink diamond, yacht – all these and more, bought with money allegedly stolen from state investor 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) will be sold and the money returned to Malaysians if Pakatan Harapan (PH) takes control of the government in the coming general election.
This was the assurance given by PH leaders in Penaga, Penang last night in their renewed campaign to make the multi-billion 1MDB scandal the defining issue in the coming polls.
Amanah Youth deputy chief Faiz Fadzil said the assets will be put under the hammer and the proceeds repatriated to Malaysia.
“Her necklace, we will auction and sell it off and return the proceeds to the people,” he said at the 1MDB ceramah, “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptokrasi” (Love Malaysia, Destroy Kleptocracy).
Faiz was referring to the much-talked-about 22-carat rare pink diamond set in a necklace, which the US Department of Justice (DoJ) alleged was purchased with stolen 1MDB money for the wife of “Malaysian Official 1” (MO1). A Cabinet minister had identified MO1 as Prime Minister Najib Razak.
“If we can recover the money, we can use it for the people. The pink diamond was bought with our money.
“Are you not angry? Do not forget that anger when you go to the ballot box. Don’t be distracted by the issues created by BN,” Batu Kawan MP P. Kasthuriraani told a mostly Malay crowd of over 200 people at a community hall in Penaga.
In the three civil suits filed by the DoJ since last year to recover assets bought with money allegedly stolen from the state investor, it was revealed that billions were spent to purchase hotels, luxury apartments, artwork, a jet, a yacht, jewellery and on the production of two Hollywood movies.
Faiz and Kasthuriraani said it was up to the people to decide whether to keep or remove Barisan Nasional, which imposed policies like the goods and services tax (GST) that burdened the people to cover up the 1MDB scandal.
“It is important for the people themselves to change. If you feel that life is getting harder, then we must all rise and fight in this coming election. There is no other choice but to make sure BN is voted out,” Faiz said.
Kasthuriraani urged the people to talk about 1MDB at home and when they go to the “warung” (street stalls).
She also urged those who have not registered as voters to get registered, reminding them that their votes were important to remove BN.
She said the people must check their voting status and area as there were “dirty tactics” to move voters to different constituencies.
“It is up to you to save Malaysia or be a BN accomplice,” she said.
Last night’s event was the start of PH’s two-month nationwide tour to explain issues related to 1MDB.
Earlier, Penang DAP vice-chairman Zairil Khir Johari said kampung folk should not think that 1MDB and kleptocracy had nothing to do with their rural lives.
He said the people were shouldering the 1MDB burden as the BN government had to cut subsidies and introduce the GST to cover the scandal that had cost Malaysia billions of ringgit.
“Due to the failure of the government and its leaders, our lives are becoming more difficult. Prices and the cost of living are going up while our salaries remain stagnant,” he said.
Zairil also said the kleptocracy culture has been tolerated in Malaysia for too long because nobody had been punished for the many scandals that had hit the country.
Apart from 1MDB, there were others like the Bumiputra Malaysia Finance, Perwaja Steel, National Feedlot Corporation, and Mara scandals, he said.
“The problem is no action was taken against those responsible. That is why corruption, misappropriation and kleptocracy is synonymous with the BN government.
“As people, we have shut our eyes. Each time the polls came, BN would win, even though we knew of their wrongdoings.
“If we fail to reject corruption and corrupted leaders, we will let kleptocracy spread,” he said.
The other speakers tonight included DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Penang Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) information chief Yaacob Osman.
Pua explained the scandal at length with slides showing how 1MDB raised money, bought power assets, lost money, incurred debts and how money was allegedly channelled into shell companies and then found its way into the accounts of certain individuals, including Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The crowd was mostly passive throughout the night but there were some grins and sniggles when Pua talked about Jho Low, the businessman accused as the mastermind behind the scandal, and jewellery bought for the wife of MO1.
Saifuddin had the crowd in stitches when he said the moment PH was declared the winner of the 14th general election, all airports would be ordered to to prevent Jho Low’s jet from flying certain people out of Malaysia.
The ceramah was aired live on the DAP Pulau Pinang Facebook page.
– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/
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