One of the first things a new Federal Government in Putrajaya replacing the UMNO/BN will do after the 14GE will be to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to “chase down every penny from 1MDB”
At the official launch of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) in Shah Alam last night, PPBM Chairman Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said PPBM would “chase down every penny from 1MDB”.
I have no doubt that one of the first things a new Federal Government in Putrajaya replacing the UMNO/BN will do after the 14th General Election will be to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to “chase down every penny from 1MDB”.
In fact, if we have a Cabinet which is patriotic and protective of the good name of Malaysia, the top priority of the agenda of the next Cabinet meeting on Wednesday should be on how to purge and clear the country of the infamy and ignominy of being regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”.
I said in Parliament that a kleptocracy is a government of 3Ps – Pencuri, Perompak and Penyamun.
I do not believe that any patriotic and proud Malaysian would stand idly by and do nothing when the country is defamed worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”!
I also do not believe that the first four Prime Ministers of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein and Tun Mahathir would have stood idly by and done nothing if Malaysia had been defamed and regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy during their premiership.
Even the fifth Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah would also have acted to defend the honour and reputation of Malaysia if the country is defamed world-wide as a global kleptocracy!
Why then has the Cabinet done nothing in the past three years to put the ghost of 1MDB scandal to rest, instead allowing the country to be battered, haunted and hounded by the issue, which has aggravated the host of political, economic and nation-building crisis of confidence confronting the country?
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and UMNO leadership may have their own reason to sweep the 1MDB scandal “under the carpet”, but why have the Ministers from MCA, Gerakan, MIC and Sabah and Sarawak component parties of Barisan Nasional also sealed their lips on the 1MDB issue – and dared not breathe a word of the mega financial scandal in Cabinet and government?
In a statement yesterday entitled “Unity is easy when you are subservient”, Wan Saiful Wan Jan, chief executive of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) pointed out:
“Barisan Nasional today has become a coalition of many irrelevant parties dictated by one supreme overlord. They are no longer equals. The big brother is free to entertain or ignore other minions as they wish.
“For example, when Chinese schools were having difficulty to access their funding recently, Liow (Tiong Lai – MCA President) was only able to say that he will ‘follow up’ with the Prime Minister on this issue.”.
He observed:
“Of course the MCA may eventually get the money but the rule remains, namely, MCA can beg but they must obey. If they disagree with a decision, all they can do is just ‘insist’ and ‘follow up’. The relationship in Barisan Nasional is more like a master and a servant, not a relationship between equals.”
Wan Saiful had hit the nail on the head about the “reality” of the fictitious Barisan Nasional “coalition” and the real “subvervient” role of MCA, Gerakan, MIC and the other BN component parties, whether Sarawak or Sabah.
The international multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal is another example of such “master-servant” relationship between UMNO and the other Barisan Nasional component parties, as there is no other way to explain why none of the 15 non-UMNO Ministers in the 35-member Cabinet dared to make a squeak to question in Cabinet about the 1MDB scandal in the past three years over a matter which had brought so much shame, dishonour and humiliation to Malaysians for the nation to be regarded worldwide as a “global kleptocracy”.
Can anyone of the Ministers from MCA, Gerakan, MIC or Sabah/Sarawak BN component parties explain the “thunderous silence” on the 1MDB scandal in the Cabinet for the past three years, apart from Wan Saiful’s “master-and-servant” explanation of Najib’s Cabinet?
I expect these 15 non-UMNO Ministers to dig their heads deeper in the sand so that they need not answer this question!
A third instance of such “master-servant” relationship is the UMNO’s arbitrary and unilateral announcement that the BN Federal government will take over PAS President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill, without any consensus either from the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council or the Cabinet.
In the process, the UMNO leadership has only shown utter contempt for the other Barisan Nasional Ministers and the BN Supreme Council.
Dare Ministers from MCA, Gerakan, MIC and Sarawak/Sabah BN component parties present the Pensiangan Formula to address the political and constitutional stalemate created by UMNO’s arbitrary and unilateral support for Hadi’s private members bill, where the BN Federal Government would not take over Hadi’s private member’s bill but an all-party Parliamentary Select Committee would be set up in the March meeting of Parliament to study and make recommendations on how to strengthen inter-religious relations and harmony in Malaysia, including study of Hadi’s proposed private member’s bill?