Sex, sleaze and scams

 

Billion dollar bombshells: Leissner testifying in a US court as a key witness in the 1MDB corruption trial of his former Goldman Sachs colleague, as shown in this court sketch. – Reuters

By WONG CHUN WAI

IT must have been a week when most Malaysians cringed in embarrassment. Tough times, indeed, for trying to find a place to bury our heads knowing that the world was reading about the level of corruption that has plagued our country.

It’s not just the politicians either, but top-level officials and bureaucrats, and even their spouses and mistresses, who seem to be inextricably involved in one way or another.

Yes, it’s just a claim by Tim Leissner, a man with questionable intentions, who took money from 1MDB, but he has now turned prosecution witness.

Based on records, he has poor credentials, but we must admit his testimony is damning.

Leissner, a former Goldman Sachs banker, has been described as a “serial liar” and “cheater”, and these are the more polite terms used on him.

After all, billions have been siphoned off by Jho Low and his partners in crime, whether at corporate or political levels.

While Leissner has testified in court that he was allegedly blackmailed by his lover into buying a RM43mil (US$10mil) house in the posh Knightsbridge area in London, one wonders what the relevance was in naming his affairs with the other women, who have no role in the 1MDB scandal.

While these women were politically connected because of their families, it hints at how desperate Leissner is to boast about his conquests with “the natives”, so to speak. While the mainstream media didn’t name them, social media did, and unfortunately, their identities and pictures went viral.

It has been reported that former Astro chief executive officer Datuk Rohana Rozhan has been called up by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) because if 1MDB money was used to buy her a house, it will involve possible money laundering as well as failure to report the hideous crime.

The alleged relationship between Rohana and Leissner first surfaced in the book, Billion Dollar Whale by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, albeit indirectly. She was mentioned as the former chief financial officer of Astro, but in Leissner’s words, their liaison was an open secret.

The writers described Leissner as “a good talker,” who grew up in the northern German town of Wolfsburg, close to Hanover, who talked his way into the upper echelons of Malaysia’s elite.

But while the pillow talk and seduction make for juicy reading, it’s the missing money and the links that should remain our focus. These are the missing pieces in the jigsaw puzzle.

Those implicated will or have to come out with denials. It’s unlikely they’ll want to refute him in open court. The reality is that their credibility is in shambles, even if unfair.

Malaysians are likely not going to subscribe to their denials and would want the authorities, including the MACC, to take it up.

The truth is, our institutions including Bank Negara Malaysia and well, the MACC itself, have lost their credibility. More than just simple denials are needed to restore their image.

That amounts to a serious revamp if it means allowing these agencies to move forward. Perception is everything and surely, we don’t have to tell the government that.

We mustn’t send the wrong message that there are different sets of rules for the rich and powerful, what with their connections. If they have committed a crime, they should not get away with it.

Incredibly, we now see corrupt and even convicted politicians being feted like celebrities or honourable personalities, and their leadership unfathomably “missed.”

Well, unfortunately, that’s also because their successors are worse in terms of expectations and performances, and the lack of leadership has led to some segments of Malaysia longing for a time when there was hope, stability and purpose. Yes, it’s an irony when some of us pine for the leadership of crooks, but we have come to that stage.

I’m afraid that some of us Malaysians are also sending that kind of signal to these tarnished politicians.

Malaysia is indeed in a sorry state as we struggle to solve that conundrum. It looks like more dirt will surface to complete the inside story of one of the biggest financial heists in history. - Star