STAY COOL, KU LI TELLS UMNO MEMBERS: MACC HAS RIGHT TO FREEZE PARTY A/CS AFTER NAJIB LINKED RM114 MIL CASH FOUND DURING 1MDB RAIDS TO UMNO, EVEN AS NAJIB RUSHES TO BLAMES ‘POLITICAL REVENGE’ FOR HIS WOES

UMNO presidential candidate Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said he would try to lift the freeze on the party’s accounts so the funds could be used as soon as possible.

The accounts for the party’s headquarters and Umno Selangor have been frozenby the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission today.

Tengku Razaleigh, better known as Kuli, said the freeze was done in accordance to the law but the party will look for ways to take back the funds.

“They (MACC) took lawful action, they can do anything that is legal.

“Every action has a reaction. We will find a way to get back the funds that belong to the party so that we can use it for our cause,” he said after a meeting with representatives from Wanita, Youth and Puteri Umno from the Federal Territories, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Malacca in Kuala Lumpur today. – THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT

Najib claims political revenge, says seized items’ value overinflated

KUALA LUMPUR— Datuk Seri Najib Razak today claimed that authorities had overinflated the alleged RM1.1 billion market value of luxury items seized from his family for political revenge.

The former prime minister said his family maintained their position that most of the luxury items seized by police were gifts from friends, foreign dignitaries and even royalty, also claiming that some belonged to relatives or third parties.

“Similar to the over-inflating of the national debt, the over-inflating of the quantity and value of the items seized as well as the press conference appears to be done with a view for political vengeance and political attack on my family,” Najib, former Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, said in a press statement today.

In the same press statement, Najib said the alleged gifts to his family were for various occasions, including official visits and family events such as birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and engagements.

He said the third parties who owned some of the items seized have now started the legal process to claim them from the police.

Najib reiterated his comments yesterday, where he disputed the quantity and valuation of the items seized in a press conference by the police.

He again insisted that the valuation of the seized items is “subjective” and depended on when they were gifted to his family.

“As most of the items were gifts accumulated over decades, the family is not aware of how much was paid by those who had gifted these items.

“Any valuation based on retail price and at current prices would be unrealistic, likely to be grossly inflated and will give a very distorted picture as these items were received as gifts over a period that spans decades,” he said.

Najib cited as example the police’s remark that the most expensive watch seized was a Rolex Daytona valued at RM3.4 million, claiming that police did not mention important facts about the item’s origin.

“This item referred by the police appears to be a recent gift along with several other valuables given by the interior minister, who is also a prince of a Middle Eastern country who visited Malaysia in March this year. The police should also have stated that this item along with several others were contained in a box with the royal crest of a foreign country. This fact should not have been omitted,” he said.

“We also point out that many of the items seized were contained in boxes properly labelled by staff members with the item description, photographs, date of gift and the identity of the persons who gave the gift,” he added.

But Najib also said his family will fully cooperate with the police if called in for questioning, adding that they would “help the police identify those who have given the gifts over the decades” to the best of their ability.

Yesterday, Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Commissioner Datuk Seri Amar Singh Ali revealed the appraised cost of 12,000 pieces of jewellery alone seized from properties linked to Najib to be RM440 million, with their market price estimated at between RM660 million and RM880 million.

The market value includes workmanship cost, initial labour charges, design fees and more.

The police also seized 567 handbags worth RM51.3 million, 423 watches worth RM78 million and 234 pairs of sunglasses valued at RM374,000.

The count of cash contained in 35 bags seized from three units at Pavilion Residences was RM116.7 million in 26 different currencies, while another half a million ringgit in cash was also recovered from Najib’s home in Taman Duta.

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT / MALAY MAIL