KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should clear the air over the debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in Parliament as he is now revealed to be the final approving authority for its deals, DAP’s Lim Kit Siang said today.
Lim urged Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, to present his ministerial statement in Parliament next Monday on how “he had allowed 1MDB scandal to balloon into a RM42 billion scandal in six years”.
Lim said Najib has to give a full account in Parliament on nine items regarding the Finance Ministry-owned 1MDB, including why the latter’s role as the final approving authority was kept under wraps.
“Why was the information about the Prime Minister as the final approving authority for all 1MDB deals, transactions and investments leading to 1MDB becoming the biggest financial scandal in the nation’s 58 year history in six years withheld from Cabinet and Parliament in the past six years?” the DAP parliamentary leader asked, having earlier pointed to Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Husni Hanadzlah’s public admission of Najib’s role in a TV1 interview this week.
Najib should explain why 1MDB’s predecessor Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA)’s Memorandum and Articles of Association Agreement was amended in August 2009 to include a new Clause 117, which requires the Prime Minister’s written consent for “any TIA deals, including the firm’s involvements or any bid for restructuring”, Lim said.
This clause paved the way for TIA to become a federal agency with a name change to 1MDB, he said.
Lim also demanded that Najib explain the number of times since 2009 when he had given his “written consent” under Clause 117 and the details of each decision.
Lim also listed down a number of specific 1MDB deals - including the sale of a plot of land in the Tun Razak Exchange area to Lembaga Tabung Haji, urging Najib to state if he had given his “written consent” for such deals.
Najib also has to state the number of times he had refused to give “written consent” to 1MDB deals, as well as the number of Cabinet meetings since 2009 where 1MDB decisions were made, together with the dates and decisions made.
The two other items that Najib must disclose is his actual relationship with billionaire Jho Low in the entire history of 1MDB; and the other companies with a similar clause stipulating the prime minister as the final approving authority for their deals, transactions and investments.
Finally, Najib has to list down the firms where the finance minister is the final approving authority for their deals, transactions and investments, he said.
