'Najib can't keep silent on SRC International amid Swiss case'

MP SPEAKS Malaysians have been demanding answers from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on the 1MDB-related scandal, that is the RM4 billion from SRC International, which is the former subsidiary of 1MDB.

Similar to 1MDB, the money, which was borrowed from Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP), had been invested in mysterious and unknown funds overseas.

No one, including anyone from the Finance Ministry, knows where the money has disappeared to.

The prime minister and the attorney-general have also stubbornly refused to respond to the clear-cut evidence that has shown SRC International had transferred, via intermediaries, at least RM67 million into the personal bank account of Najib.

However, it appears that Najib cannot remain silent forever, since, like on the 1MDB matter, the international authorities are catching up with SRC International’s laundering scams.

The Swiss Attorney-General’s Office (OAG) has publicly stated that investigations have revealed substantial amounts of money were allegedly misappropriated from former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International and that fraud was committed based on a form of “Ponzi” scheme to cover it up.

Najib can no longer choose to remain silent, in the face of another international investigation over funds which he controls.

He must come forward and disclose if the allegations made by the Swiss authorities are frivolous, or are they substantive, which will require an open and thorough investigation in Malaysia.

In addition, Najib must state if he will provide full cooperation with the Swiss authorities who are demanding and requiring information from their counterparts in Malaysia.

Or is he going to merely pay lip service and ignore the requests?

At least in 1MDB, for the longest time, there were "faces" who responded to questions and queries, like Shahrol Halmi and Arul Kanda Kandasamy.

Who is running SRC International now?

The question Malaysians have is, who is, or are, running the show in SRC International now?

As far as we are aware, the managing director of SRC International, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, has disappeared off the face of Malaysia, together with another fellow director Suboh Yassin.

And yet, despite their disappearance, they have remained directors in SRC International over the past year or more.

In fact, when asked, the prime minister ,responded in Parliament that there is no need at all to appoint new directors or a new management team for SRC International.

It is a testament of the failure of Malaysian institutions entrusted to safeguard the people's money, as well as the law and order, that nothing concrete has been done to uncover another massive embezzlement of RM4 billion of funds from a state-owned subsidiary.

What have the police, Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission or the Attorney-General's Office been doing?

Have they been closing both eyes because the scandal involved the prime minister himself?

If Najib believes that the Swiss allegations are frivolous and untrue, then he should immediately demand the auditor-general commences a new report, specifically on SRC International, and table this report to Parliament.

If not, there is no longer any credibility to his administration, which will be etched in history as the single biggest den of thieves.

---

TONY PUA is the MP for Petaling Jaya Utara and DAP national publicity secretary.--Mkini