Veteran DAP lawmaker Lim Kit Siang finds it incredible that the cabinet has degenerated into a magic show “for a David Copperfield to produce a rabbit from an empty hat”.
He also lamented that no minister dared to expose the illusion of the whole exercise.
According to the Gelang Patah MP, the cabinet’s credibility has plunged further as far as Malaysians are concerned following its last Friday meeting.
“Firstly, for giving approval to a 1MDB roadmap when it is clear that no minister has any clue how 1MDB and the government is going to be saved from 1MDB’s RM42 billion loans scandal.
“Secondly, no resignation by any minister although Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said that ministers can resign if they do not support him on the 1MDB issue,” he added.
Lim noted that Rural and Regional Development Minister Shafie Apdal (pix) had objected to the application of the principle of collective ministerial responsibility on 1MDB because although ministers had asked questions about the firm during cabinet meetings, they remain just as unclear as the public over the firm’s opaque deals.
“Shafie has an important point, although his rejection of the principle of collective ministerial responsibility is not acceptable.
“The question is whether after Friday’s cabinet meeting approving the 1MDB roadmap presented by Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah are all cabinet ministers prepared to explain to the people about the 1MDB roadmap?
“Nobody thinks so, for the ministers must be equally at sea as the Malaysian public on the many questions and controversies that have cropped up just in the past three days on the 1MDB roadmap,” he added in a statement.
Ministers, answer these questions
Lim then listed several queries for the ministers to address:
1) Can the ministers explain to the public what 1MDB has to give in return for Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC)’s US$1 billion so that 1MDB can settle its US$975 million syndicated loan?
2) Since 1MDB president Arul Kanda denied IPIC’s US$1 billion was ‘a loan, debt or bailout’, does any minister know what animal is this?
3) Do the ministers know whether 1MDB is being wound down by next year and its operations transferred to three separate companies as part of the deal with IPIC and its Aabar Investments unit to remove another RM16 billion debt from 1MDB – as reported by Bernama but subsequently denied by Husni?
4) Even more important, have the ministers got answers to the most basic question: Why is IPIC’s USD1 billion (not ‘loan, debt or bailout’) necessary in the first place?
5) Has the Cabinet received a full report as to whether there is any basis in the allegation of whistleblower site Sarawak Report that BSI Singapore informed the Singapore authorities that the documents related to 1MDB’s account in BSI were in fact “false bank statements” and “did not represent a true account of the assets of the 1MDB subsidiary”, resulting in the consortium of international banks rescinding the loan to 1MDB ahead of the August due date?
And if so, what action has the Cabinet taken against such 1MDB irresponsibility and mismanagement?
6) Most important of all, had the prime minister at Friday’s Cabinet meeting explained his role not only on the 1MDB’s USD975 million loan being rescinded by the consortium of international bankers ahead of the August due date, but all the important 1MDB decisions by virtue of his being the final approving authority for any 1MDB deal, transaction or investment under the 1MDB Memorandum & Articles of Association (M&A)?
He also lamented that no minister dared to expose the illusion of the whole exercise.
According to the Gelang Patah MP, the cabinet’s credibility has plunged further as far as Malaysians are concerned following its last Friday meeting.
“Firstly, for giving approval to a 1MDB roadmap when it is clear that no minister has any clue how 1MDB and the government is going to be saved from 1MDB’s RM42 billion loans scandal.
“Secondly, no resignation by any minister although Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said that ministers can resign if they do not support him on the 1MDB issue,” he added.
Lim noted that Rural and Regional Development Minister Shafie Apdal (pix) had objected to the application of the principle of collective ministerial responsibility on 1MDB because although ministers had asked questions about the firm during cabinet meetings, they remain just as unclear as the public over the firm’s opaque deals.“Shafie has an important point, although his rejection of the principle of collective ministerial responsibility is not acceptable.
“The question is whether after Friday’s cabinet meeting approving the 1MDB roadmap presented by Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah are all cabinet ministers prepared to explain to the people about the 1MDB roadmap?
“Nobody thinks so, for the ministers must be equally at sea as the Malaysian public on the many questions and controversies that have cropped up just in the past three days on the 1MDB roadmap,” he added in a statement.
Ministers, answer these questions
Lim then listed several queries for the ministers to address:1) Can the ministers explain to the public what 1MDB has to give in return for Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC)’s US$1 billion so that 1MDB can settle its US$975 million syndicated loan?
2) Since 1MDB president Arul Kanda denied IPIC’s US$1 billion was ‘a loan, debt or bailout’, does any minister know what animal is this?
3) Do the ministers know whether 1MDB is being wound down by next year and its operations transferred to three separate companies as part of the deal with IPIC and its Aabar Investments unit to remove another RM16 billion debt from 1MDB – as reported by Bernama but subsequently denied by Husni?
4) Even more important, have the ministers got answers to the most basic question: Why is IPIC’s USD1 billion (not ‘loan, debt or bailout’) necessary in the first place?
5) Has the Cabinet received a full report as to whether there is any basis in the allegation of whistleblower site Sarawak Report that BSI Singapore informed the Singapore authorities that the documents related to 1MDB’s account in BSI were in fact “false bank statements” and “did not represent a true account of the assets of the 1MDB subsidiary”, resulting in the consortium of international banks rescinding the loan to 1MDB ahead of the August due date?
And if so, what action has the Cabinet taken against such 1MDB irresponsibility and mismanagement?
6) Most important of all, had the prime minister at Friday’s Cabinet meeting explained his role not only on the 1MDB’s USD975 million loan being rescinded by the consortium of international bankers ahead of the August due date, but all the important 1MDB decisions by virtue of his being the final approving authority for any 1MDB deal, transaction or investment under the 1MDB Memorandum & Articles of Association (M&A)?
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