Parliament has rejected a question asking if attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali is still of the view that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is innocent as the US$681 million in his personal bank accounts was an Arab "donation".
DAP's Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua had directed the written question at the prime minister.
However, Parliament secretary Roosme Hamzah, in a letter to Pua, rejected the question, stating, in bold text, that it was an assumption (sangkaan).
"I don't know which part of my question is based on assumption.
"We all know that in January last year, the attorney-general held a press conference to announce that Najib is innocent.
"He claimed the money that entered the prime minister's accounts was a donation from Saudi Arabia," Pua told journalists at the Parliament building today.
As such, he questioned why the matter could not be put on record in Parliament.
"Is the attorney-general still of the same view, or has he changed his mind?
"And why doesn't the prime minister dare come to Parliament to deny that the money was from 1MDB and was indeed a royal donation?" he asked.
Pua pointed out that to date, Najib's supporters were the ones speaking on the prime minister’s behalf on the matter.
"Najib has never come to Parliament to explain this issue, which has sullied the good name of Malaysia internationally, and the country is now known as a kleptocracy," he said.
The US$681 million is colloquially referred to as RM2.6 billion, based on the exchange rate when the deposits first came to light in July 2015.
The US Department of Justice, which is investigating allegedly stolen 1MDB funds that were laundered through the US financial system, claimed the US$681 million went to "Malaysian Official 1".
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan had confirmed that "Malaysian Official 1" is the prime minister.
Najib had denied the money originated from 1MDB and stressed that it was a donation from a member of the Saudi Arabia royal family.
He also denied wrongdoing or taking public funds for personal gain.- Mkini
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