Umno supreme council member Bung Moktar Radin confessed that he is one of those among the party loyalists that trusts every word uttered by former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
As such, he firmly believes that the huge amount of cashconfiscated by the police from Pavilion Residences in Kuala Lumpur on May 18, indeed belongs to Umno as claimed by the former party president.
In an interview, he said he attributes his loyalty to Najib to the legacy left by Dr Mahathir Mohamad who led Umno for over two decades.
"According to Najib, that is the party's money. Since he claims so, then there is nothing wrong (for the party to own such huge amount of cash) as everybody can donate to the party," Bung told Malaysiakini.
As to why the money was kept in a luxury apartment instead of the bank, he said: "Maybe (Najib) has no time to arrange it (to bank in the money) as he was travelling every day (during the election campaigning period). But I don't know, only Najib knows.
"I believe my leaders because we were trained to be loyal to our leaders. During his time, Mahathir trained us to trust the leader. Even if Mahathir is no longer with us, we still trust our (party) leader," said Bung, who retained his Kinabatangan seat in Sabah at the May 9 general election.
Najib, who resigned as Umno president and BN chairperson on May 12, is being probed by the police under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 over the 1MDB affair.
Three weeks ago, police confiscated 35 bags of cash in 26 currencies totalling RM114 million, 37 bags of jewellery and watches and 284 boxes of designer handbags from three units at Pavilion Residences.
Najib has reportedly lodged a police report claiming the cash seized was campaign donations for Umno.
Party administrators said that it was traditional for the party president to source and manage campaign funds.
Jewellery from Petaling Street?
However, Cheras Umno chief Syed Ali Alhabshee told Malaysiakini in an interview that he was "shocked" by the amount found stashed in the condominium units.
When asked about the luxury handbags that allegedly belonged to Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor, Bung Moktar said the owners of those handbags had yet to be identified.
"We don't know who the owner is. Everyone can claim this and that. I don't want to speculate. I am not a master in speculation," said the Kinabatangan parliamentarian.
The same applied to the jewellery which found in Pavilion Residences, he added.
"We heard the rumour too. I did not see what type of jewellery.
“Maybe they look almost the same as what you would buy from Petaling Street," he said, referring to the well-known street bazaar in Kuala Lumpur where imitation luxury items are hawked. - Mkini
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