‘1MDB a slaughterhouse in the making’

Whether you lid the stories now with the Official Secrets Act (OSA) or not, the history is already being penned and will be read the world over.

JD Lovrenciear, Malaysiakini

It appears all set that Malaysia’s supposedly wealth-generating company in all likelihood may transform itself sooner or later into the nation’s political slaughterhouse.

Already we are clearly witnessing the nation being torn apart by the two forces, i.e. one that unrelenting denies any wrongdoing; and another force on the other end, ever determined to leave no stone unturned.

Between these two extremes we witness a whole lot of expose after expose in the foreign media pages and a whole host of segments of society rallying behind the two said forces.

Meanwhile, the 1MDB has already begun taking its toll as several nations have initiated investigations. Add to it also the personalities and huge business entities that have felt the blades of 1MDB strike. Some have been arrested; some have resigned; some have been transferred, etc to date.

At some point soon either the team that is supporting and those driving 1MDB win or the team that is determined to punish anyone and everyone in alliance with 1MDB rises in victory upon proving truth against lies.

Whichever the case ultimately may be, 1MDB would have by the very outcomes become the political slaughterhouse of Malaysia.

If the current prime minister, Najib Abdul Razak, gets to plough through and past this rising 1MDB debacle and the rising heaps of allegations, exposes and investigations, then all those who are against 1MDB would not be spared. Either some will be dealt the political death blow or silenced to kingdom come and shamed, of course.

If all the forces fast aligning are able to prove the mountain of allegations against 1MDB as truth beyond doubt, your bet is as good as mine, i.e. the Bugis team in all probability will see their political aspirations be slaughtered.

Meanwhile, what needs to be reckoned is that no media has gone to a slaughtering house because of its news coverage. That is the twist that will ultimately also seal the fate and future of a nation’s grandiose plans in the rush to generate unimagined wealth.

Indeed then Malaysia’s history will be painted with voluminous chapters about a sovereign wealth creation engine that also ended up as the slaughterhouse of the country’s political roadmap. Whether you lid the stories now with the Official Secrets Act (OSA) or not, the history is already being penned and will be read the world over.

How sad really, for once upon a time the country was branded as the celebrated and rising ‘Asian Tiger’.