Shahbudin: Najib can quit on Day of Sacrifice

The Prime Minister can make the necessary sacrifices this Hari Raya Korban for the sake of the nation and its 30 million people and to allow the law to take its course to bring closure to raging controversies.

KUALA LUMPUR: The two elephants in the room, the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal and the issue of money laundering linked to the RM2.6 billion political donation controversy, only need a simple solution, according to a political analyst i.e. Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak stepping down and allowing the law to take its course to bring closure to raging controversies. “Let’s see whether Najib will make the necessary sacrifices this Hari Raya Korban for the sake of the nation and its 30 million people.”

The analyst, striking a pessimistic note at the same time, does not see how the controversies related to 1MDB can be settled even by dragging the wrongdoers to Court. Even if the Tun Razak Exchange land can be sold and investors brought in for 1MDB’s land in Bandar Malaysia, the debts totaling RM42 billion or more remain. The question is whether these debts can be restructured, and at the end, who will be responsible for settling them.

Shahbudin Husin wonders how the two controversies, the two elephants in the room i.e. the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal and the RM2.6 billion political donation controversy, would find closure as something always keeps coming up to re-ignite them anew. The latest, he added, was the FBI drawing the attention of the whole world to the two controversies. “As long as this continues to happen, it would not be easy to revive the confidence of the investors in the country.”

“The whole world has reported the news on the FBI opening files and beginning investigations on the two controversies and this can only continue to affect the image of the nation.”

Bank Negara Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, noted the analyst, also stressed this week on the commitment of the international community to combat money laundering, an indirect reference to the FBI investigation on the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal and the RM2.6 billion political donation controversy.

Zeti, said the analyst in quoting from the media, has linked the continued decline of the ringgit and emerging economic uncertainties to among others the issue of transparency and governance raised by the controversies. “She feels, notwithstanding other factors, that it can only be good for the ringgit to find closure on the controversies.”

“We don’t need yet another scandal. We don’t need continued political uncertainties. All matters related to 1MDB need to be resolved before we can see the ringgit regaining much lost ground.”

The Bank Negara Governor, pointed out the analyst, reminded that she had given all the results of the central bank’s investigations on 1MDB and related issues to the Attorney-General’s Chambers. “We are still in discussions with the Attorney-General’s Chambers on the matter,” Shahbudin quoted Zeti as saying. “The public are entitled to get an explanation on 1MDB and related issues.”

Zeti, said the analyst, made several pertinent points in the media on the two controversies: the central bank sees 1MDB as being in conflict with specific approvals given by it; the investigations continue and are expected to bear result; those involved in wrongdoing at 1MDB will be brought to justice; the international community has stressed on its commitment to combat money laundering through various firm steps to be taken; and in the world of today, there’s no place for wrongdoers to run and hide forever from the law.

“What the Bank Negara Governor has stressed in the media is clear,” said Shahbudin. “The 1MDB and related issues are directly connected to the fate of the ringgit and the economy as it touches on transparency and governance issues .”