The first thing 1MDB's board and management got to do (after ignoring Nazir Razak's call)

Updated:1MDB responds to Nazir Razak, "reserves the right to take legal action"

Nazir: Loden, Arul and Co should quit

Original posting

Friday: I hope the Prime Minister's younger brother will not say later that the Press had taken him out of context in Nazir Razak skewers "irresponsible" 1MDB board, says directors should quit. [Malay Mail Online, 14/5]. Like he did 5 years ago after they had quoted him on the bastardisation* of the New Economic Policy that favoured Bumiputeras just like him. Why do I hope he'd stick to his guns this time? Because I happen to agree with him. No, not about the bastardization of the NEP but about the people running 1MDB: they should answer allegations against the Fund, or quit!

“It is your basic responsibility. There’s a complete mistrust in your financial situation. You have to responsibly deal with that. But instead you sit there and wait for AG ... To me that’s irresponsible. If you do that then it’s better for you to step down and let someone else come in and take over.”

I have made my views known before when Hazem Rahman was the elegantly silent CEO of 1MDB: if he couldn't speak up to defend his own organisation, he should pack up and go. [Malaysian corporate scenen in early 2015: Staying, moving up, moving out].  

But to be fair - and Nazir should have pointed this out - new CEO Arul Kanda has not been sitting on his ass doing nothing. He's issued quite a few statements to defend 1MDB, raised the money to  avoid default with Maybank, and is now busily calming down some panicky lenders in Singapore, or so say some newspaper reports friendly tot the Sarawak Report. Nazir could have pointed out also that Chairman of the Board Loden Wok Kamaruddin had even gone to see former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad months ago to brief the Old Man on the 1MDB's operations (this was before Dr M started calling for Nazir's brother to step down or be removed as PM). And not forgetting that big bro Najib has also not  been keeping quiet.

The thing is: there are just too many of them attack dogs.

And Arul and Loden's problem is that the calls (whether to respond to a certain allegation or not) are right now being made by "one or two experts" in Putrajaya. I was told the names of these people and I'm sorry to say these people are hardly experts.

In order to effectively defend itself against those attacks, 1MDB needs to have full, 24/7 control of its communications and media strategies at its immediate disposal. Right now, its media strategies are being planned and carried out from the Prime Minister's Office perhaps by virtue that the PM is Chairman of the Advisory Board. I don't see how this has benefitted anyone other than those who are opposed to 1MDB.

So if you ask me the first thing the Board and the Management of the 1MDB got to do, assuming that they will ignore Nazir's call for them to quit, is to reclaim that ability to defend themselves from the so-called experts in Putrajaya.

Basic, right? 

-rocky's bru