Najib, Umno-BN conspiring to HIDE THE TRUTH about his corruption from Malaysians?

It appears not only the country's foreign reserves is diminishing but its overall reputation as the 1MDB scandal - a simple matter of answering some basic accounting questions - paints an ugly picture of opaque governance and over-the-top responses and public suspicions of a government conspiring against the truth.

For a government that made remarkable promises of transparency and reform, when the tyre met a big pothole like the 1MDB scandal, it skidded and went off the road and crashed into a tree of controversy that has left its credibility in an ugly mess.

The latest travel bans on Tony Pua, an outstanding member of parliament in the opposition, who is playing a pivotal role in questioning the alleged anomalies and acts of wrongdoing in the 1MDB saga, will not sit well with a public sick of the gluttony and greed of allegedly corrupt leaders. Equally the travel ban on Tong Kooi Ong, The Edge's owner, is unwarranted, unjust and unconstitutional.

People ought to read the volcanoes of comments in social media. At home or abroad, many see serious flaws in the government's management of the 1MDB inquiry.

Besides the credibility of the composition of the members of the task force, public officials who might be implicated themselves in their watchdog roles, the hostile and unhelpful and often evasive responses to questions posed by concerned Malaysians including the former prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, betray an approach incongruous with transparency and accountability, especially with the government's boasts of soon-will-achieve 'developed status'.

Does not 'developed' denote maturity, the idea that a government is fair, open, transparent and accountable? Sadly, while there are trappings of accountability with the auditor-general's audit ordered in April, and the formation of the special 'task force', the crucial answers are still missing.

Window-dressing, delayed findings and threats against demands and criticisms of those who want those responsible for the debacle to be answerable are not features of good and caring 'people first' governance unless 'people first' means they are first to suffer and pay for the flaws in their governance. The pain of GST (Goods and Services Tax) may have been spared if the government had not been spendthrift.

The handling of the public's justifiable and legitimate questions, complaints and criticisms of 'cover up' by the government's handlers - certain self-appointed or delegated spokespeople - is nothing short of disappointing. There appears an orchestra of obstructions, denials and denouncements of those exposing the wrongdoings instead of a symphony of praise of civic-minded, concerned and responsible citizens.

We live in evil times

The government appears afflicted with either a coma of silence or outburst of threats that do not befit those who claim to want to be the 'best' in and of everything except in answering the most basic of questions people ask - 'Where is the money?'

The government may have more possible traction with the public when it cries political conspiracy to topple it if it were the CIA that has been exposed as having been involved in overthrowing several foreign leaders from Vietnam to Latin America in recently declassified documents but its detractors are ordinary citizens, elected members of parliament, even some Umno leaders, the opposition leader and to top it, a former prime minister.

They don't want to topple anyone. There is no conspiracy but the conspiracy to cover up the truth. The public by all their remonstrations simply want the simple answers. And Mahathir wants PM Najib Razak to fall on his own sword like his predecessor, Pak Lah (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi).

The public clamour in the 1MDB scandal is for those who have acted corruptly to be punished. What's wrong with that? Isn't it the fundamental role of a government to punish wrongdoers? So why do we see those helping the government to expose fraud accused of conspiracy? Is there conspiracy every time the police go after the criminals?

I am afraid our forefathers were right when they predicted in the last days people will call good evil and evil good. We live in evil times.

Can patriotic and concerned citizens asking their government to tell them what it has done with not 42 million, but a Godzilla-sized 42 billion ringgit? Everyone knows how much damage Godzilla can do.

And when the government has a track record of gargantuan financial flops costing the public a lot of money, such as the 'lost 100 billion ringgit' under the 'Malaysian maverick's' watch, can anyone blame them for worrying history may repeat itself?

The government must use its upper hand in giving the public the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. No one needs to swear on a holy book. No one needs to be barred from travelling abroad. No one needs to be demonised for exposing corruption. But someone has to spill the beans.

I am baffled how Sarawak Report deserves to be blacked out when all it has done is make certain very serious allegations of corrupt dealings. Should not the government investigate those allegations and invite Clare Rewcastle-Brown, the one behind the website, to speak to the Public Accounts Committee and the enforcement agencies?

Will the special task force solicit her help and substantiate her rather incriminating claims? Then we can cut the loss from costly investigations.

The sword is in Najib's hand

Not only do the figures in the 1MDB investments not seem to add up but the government's story and approach in resolving the controversy. The government has not been convincing in making use of all available information and talking to the people who may help it expedite investigations.

Instead it is now being seen as the conspirator in talking to those whose testimonies and claims are unreliable. It appears to be building a case of conspiracy against those who have exposed the alleged wrongdoings in 1MDB. Even a Sarawak minister, James Masing, has regretted the use of an unreliable witness.

All that is needed without the melodrama is for Najib to front the public and give his side of the story. The saga has hurt Malaysia when a government instead of dealing fairly and expeditiously with allegations of corruption against its leader, succumbs to its animal instincts and protects its own against the nation's interests.

I have never seen another leader so seriously scandal-prone and unwilling to defend himself.

After all, he is the one - the brainchild of 1MDB who has become the drainchild of the nation. Mahathir has declared publicly he is not conspiring to topple him. Mahathir wants Najib to commit political ‘seppuku’ like Pak Lah and has told him so privately and now publicly. The sword is in Najib's hand but instead he seems to be wielding it against those who stand in his way.

I doubt any creditable solution will flow out from the government's pipeline of investigations and I hope I am proven wrong for the country's sake. I only expect the future will see the plot thicken as false witnesses and false stories build up against the whistleblowers. It is the proven tactic. It worked with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, using the false testimonies of false witnesses, and it worked with the jailing of former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Will the world stand by and do nothing?

If there is confusion, the collision of allegations and counter- allegations so people don't know who and what to believe, it is what the conniving and culpable want. The smokescreen, the sideshows, the decoy, the detraction, the distractions and more - these are the modus operandi of the criminal mastermind.

The conspiracy against the truth is a Pyrrhic victory for the plotters but eventually history vindicates the truth and the corrupt will be convicted and often by the temporal authorities before they face the final judgement and are thrown into the lake of fire reserved for liars, thieves, the corrupt, and those who abuse their power and mock God by their evil ways. - M'kini