Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan says the explanation over the RM2.6 billion in the prime minister's bank accounts was an admission of foreign meddling in the general election. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, September 30, 2015.
Putrajaya's explanation over the RM2.6 billion that went into the prime minister's personal bank accounts was a huge lie that was causing the government an even bigger problem, said civil activist and lawyer Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.
Speaking at a forum titled, "1MDB: Will Najib or Malaysia Survive", Ambiga said by claiming it was a donation from the Middle East and not a corruption, the government was in fact admitting there was foreign interference in the Malaysian elections.
"Do they know what they have done?
"They are actually saying they allowed a foreign government into our elections. Does that make sense?
"They failed to realise that the lie did not get them out of trouble but landed them in a bigger one," the National Human Rights Society president told the forum in Petaling Jaya last night.
Ambiga said the Cabinet should urge Datuk Seri Najib Razak to take leave from his position as the finance minister until the controversy over the billions in his accounts is resolved.
"I hope the Cabinet can be responsible enough to urge the prime minister to vacate his post temporarily," said Ambiga, the former chairman of the Bar Council.
Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua also questioned why Najib repeatedly asked for six months to solve the problems plaguing debt-ridden state investor 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which has incurred more than RM42 billion in debts.
Pua said the issues cannot be resolved in the near future as the debt was now huge.
"He asked for six months in January, and asked for the same again in March, June and in September, he asked for another six months.
"He will continue asking for six months as the debt hole had gotten too big to be covered," he added.
News portal Malaysiakini chief editor Steven Gan described the practice of political donations to fund general elections as the main source of corruption in the country's administration.
"Political donation is the mother of all corruption.
"The fact that a political party needs to come up with that much money to win an election and remain in power is itself the source of all corruption.
"We will not be able to deal with this scourge as long as the political financing issues remain unresolved," said Gan, a panelist at the forum.
The forum was mediated by former Temerloh MP Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, and also featured The Malaysian Insider chief executive Jahabar Sadiq and Universiti Malaya economics professor Terence Gomez as panelists.
- TMI
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