Before the ringgit PLUNGES to 4.00 against US dollar, Najib must step down & let Muhyiddin take over

Day by day, the country’s reputation is being torn to shreds as damaging evidence concerning the various wrong doings in the 1MDB affair is made publicly available. The body count now extends to even multinational agencies such as the actions of a senior employee of a local unit of the giant Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund and KPMG Malaysia.

No doubt, this scandal now even threatens relations with the Gulf states. The Gulf prides itself in discreet dealings and ultra-secrecy. No doubt with all the revelations, people in the Gulf itself will be asking questions – a situation which would greatly displease their own respective Government It seems as if 1MDB has offended World superpowers, to the extent that they are willing to reveal information on everybody and everything connected to this firm using information gathered through sophisticated technology.

Malaysia can no longer afford for the country’s reputation to continue to suffer and endanger relations with strategic allies on account of 1MDB. Even though the Inspector General of Police has chosen to sit on the side-lines while awaiting the report of the Auditor General , allegations of wrong doing backed by hard evidence can be easily found and are widely disseminated and discussed by the public.

PM Najib

The Cabinet must be made to understand that the deteriorating public mood, the sovereignty and the international standing of the country cannot be placed in the hands of civil servants, who are afraid or unable to act within the powers provided to their respective institutions. The Cabinet, as the ultimate political decision making body must provide the leadership and act decisively.

We believe that if the Cabinet were to take proactive measures, such as requesting the Prime Minister to take a leave of absence, and directly ordering the Commercial Crimes Investigative Department (CCID) to initiate the probe, this could be seen as taking the first step to contain this crisis.

The Cabinet must know that the 1MDB crisis has affected and will continue to affect the country tremendously.

Economically, the ringgit continues to weaken with the threat of a ratings downgrade and rumours of a bailout by an energy utility adding to investor jitters. Overnight, even though the US Dollar suffered losses against all major currencies, it continued to strengthen against the ringgit, touching a high 3.73. The market now expects the Ringgit to test the 3.8 barrier, and should it breach that barrier, the Ringgit could plunge to further than 4.00. This will cause severe hardships as vital supplies, including basic necessities such as rice, are imported and will be more expensive with a weakening ringgit.

Socially, the people are extremely disappointed at the Royal Malaysia Police Force’s reluctance to investigate commercial crime involving 1MDB. This can have the effect of weakening ties between the public and the police, which will not be good for future law enforcement and public order. The public also has expressed anger that public money is being used to bail out 1MDB, at a time of great economic uncertainty. The initial bailout for 1MDB has even exceeded the total funding provided to rebuild the east coast states after the floods , and the final bill could be very much be 10 times that.

Muhyiddin yassin

Internationally, Malaysia’s reputation as a viable business destination and centre of commerce is now questioned given the apparent collusion between various independent audit firms with local companies. Multinational firms will be afraid to relocated regional headquarters to Malaysia given the poor state of corporate governance that has been exposed as a result of this crisis.

Diplomatically, the Gulf states may be very reluctant to explore further collaboration with the country as they digest the blow by blow account of the extent of the involvement of Gulf bodies and companies in this scandal.

One way out is for the Cabinet to insist that Datuk Seri Najib take a leave of absence and to hand over the reins to Tan Sri Muhiyiddin Yassin. This would be gladly welcomed by all concerned and can go somewhat in repairing the damage that has befallen the country. We are confident that the ringgit will strengthen, the public will be relieved and that relations with key allies can be repaired if this were to take place. – TMI