Why in the last decade nobody had emerged to testify on the identity of the Arab royalty donor of the funds in Najib’s accounts?

Judge Azimah Omar yesterday gave a great judgement in former Attorney-General Apandi Ali’s defamation suit against me.

Although I have won the defamation suit instituted by the former Attorney-General, I still intrigued by the thought why in the last decade, nobody had emerged to testify as to the identity of the Arab royalty donor who gave the funds in ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak’s personal bank accounts.

This is particularly puzzling as the then Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, had said in January 2016 that he had met the Arab family who had made the donations channelled into the then Prime Minister’s personal accounts.

There is a view that retired senior citizens should not comment on politics.

A former Prime Minister seems to be quite agitated that I still comment on politics.

There are over two million Malaysians who are over 65 years old, and close to three million Malaysians who are in the 55-64 year-old age group.

I do not agree with the view that five million Malaysians should have no views on politics. I retired from competitive politics but I have not retired from politics as politics affect every aspect one’s life.

The future of Malaysia must be shaped by the youths of Malaysia, in particular the over 18 million Malaysians between 15 years to 54 years, but I do not believe that senior citizens have no role in this process, as their experience is a wealth to be tapped for the betterment of Malaysian society.

The young must lead but the old must not abdicate from their responsibility to right the many wrongs in society - the rampant corruption, abuses of power, injustices and inequalities in our society.

Malaysia must learn from the lessons of our neighbouring countries.

Malaysia does not want to be in the trajectory to become another Sri Lanka or the Philippines.

The recent Australian general election, where a Malaysian born in Kota Kinabalu became the Foreign Minister of Australia should be food for thought for Malaysians about the need for Malaysia to return to the nation-building principles our founding fathers have agreed and to be found in the Malaysian Constitution – constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy, separation of powers, rule of law, good governance, respect for human rights and national unity from our multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural diversity.

Malaysia can still be saved from the kleptocrats and the extremists.