Kadir: The cat out of the bag on MO1

Veteran journalist says Abdul Rahman Dahlan won't be able to get out of his statement incriminating Najib Razak for the second time

KUALA LUMPUR: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan has dropped a nuclear bomb, acknowledging the Prime Minister is “Malaysian Official 1” (MO1), notes a veteran journalist in his latest blog posting.

Rahman Dahlan’s disclosure, recalled Kadir Jasin, was preceded by western media reports on an international entertainment empire owned by an Arab. “It appears that much of the money siphoned from 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Berhad) was used to fund this empire.”

Kadir, formerly New Straits Times Group Editor in Chief, was referring to an August 18 report on the arrest of Khadem Abdullah al-Qubaishi in Abu Dhabi. “He’s suspected of making off with USD470 million from the Arab nation’s dealings with 1MDB.”

He reckoned that PAS leaders, Abdul Hadi Awang and Haron Din, know what al-Qubaishi has been accused of doing with the money. “It’s only a matter of whether they want to admit it.”

al-Qubaishi is the man behind the Hakkasan Group that owns night clubs, hotels and top-end restaurants around the world. “The reason cited for his arrest, if true, would mean that 1MDB money was used for activities prohibited by Islam,” lamented the veteran newsman.

He wondered how Hadi and Haron would be able to convince the people that a Hakkasan night club in Las Vegas, the gambling capital, complied with Syariah laws.

Elsewhere, he said, money siphoned from 1MDB was used to finance the film “The Wolf of Wall Street”, luxury residences and expensive paintings. “These assets were seized from Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, Najib’s step son, and his friend Jho Low.”

“The civil suit filed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) lists the seizures.”

Kadir said he did not know what Hadi and Haron were waiting for before commenting on these developments. He cautioned that the whole world knew, and therefore the duo could not be waiting for four mystery witnesses to clear the suspects.

He expressed the hope the ulama too would not be willing to be stooges to cover up a scandal which has fallen as a huge burden on the people.

Returning to Rahman Dahlan, Kadir said he thought the former won’t be able to get out of his statement incriminating Najib. “This is the second such statement he has made.”

He highlighted the “nuclear bomb” statement as hugely significant as it comes from not only a Cabinet Minister but one who has consistently stood up for Najib.