Come clean if you got money from Najib, dares Sabah opposition leader

Parti Cinta Sabah president Wilfred Bumburing. (Bernama pic)

KOTA KINABALU: A Sabah opposition leader has demanded that those previously aligned to Najib Razak  come clean if they have received funds from the former prime minister.

Parti Cinta Sabah president Wilfred Bumburing said these leaders should also do the “honourable deed” by returning the money to the government.

He was commenting on a news report today quoting Chin Su Phin, the acting president of LDP, a former Sabah Barisan Nasional component party, who confirmed the party had given a statement to the police on allegations that Najib had given LDP some RM3.5 million.

It was reported that the money could possibly be part of the controversial 1MDB funds.

Bumburing said the statement given by LDP and the admission by Johor Baru MP Shahrir Abdul Samad that he had received funds from Najib back in 2015 could just be the “tip of the iceberg” on people receiving money from the former prime minister.

“It is beyond doubt that the money dished out was from Najib’s personal account and not from the BN account and therefore warrants discretionary caution before one agrees to accept it.

“Understandably, they were more than eager to receive it because of the looming general election. No wonder the BN component parties carried out a lavish campaign in the last election,” he said here today.

He further claimed some of these leaders were now part of the present government, adding “they have to come clean in their dealings if they want to portray themselves as deserving leaders of the people”.

“They owe it to the rakyat in doing the honourable deed by returning the money to the government,” Bumburing said.

“If they refuse to return the money voluntarily, the authorities must then take the appropriate legal action to retrieve the money. Those who are in cahoots with Najib must bear the full brunt of the law,” he added.

In the news report, Chin verified the claim made in a blog, steadyaku47.com, which had made its rounds in social media, alleging the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had recorded the party’s statement over the allegation.

Chin said it was the police who recorded the statement, adding it was LDP’s secretary-general who spoke to the police about two weeks ago and not himself.

The blog claimed Najib had given LDP two cheques totalling RM3.5 million in 2013. It further alleged that a former top party leader had ordered its treasurer-general to co-sign cheques that totalled the same amount and cashed them out without the party’s knowledge.

Bumburing said this revelation showed the widespread intricacy of the “mother of all scandals” in the country, referring to the 1MDB controversy.

“The Pakatan Harapan government has promised the people good governance and upholding the rule of law,” he said. -FMT