Kit Siang: Is Najib betting his job on 1MDB?

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang today asked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak if the latter is offering to resign if he cannot resolve 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) financial issues by the year’s end as reportedly pledged.

The DAP parliamentary leader, who also criticised the prime minister for delivering a closed-door briefing to Umno leaders yesterday instead of answering to the nation, said Malaysians wanted to know the truth about 1MDB rather than for its issues to be hidden from public scrutiny.

“Malaysians do not want Najib to play the role of ace magician like David Copperfield by just winding up and dissolving the 1MDB so as to claim that 1MDB controversy is no more as it has ceased to exist, but to be responsible for all 1MDB and 1MDB-related issues and scandals, including those passed off to other entities should there be a winding-up and dissolution of 1MDB.

“Malaysians want a straightforward answer from the prime minister: Is Najib giving  an undertaking to the nation that he and all his ministers will resign and retire from politics if the 1MDB scandal and all-related 1MDB issues are not resolved by the end of the year?” asks Lim in a statement.

Yesterday, Najib reportedly pledged to solve the 1MDB controversy by the year’s end, in a closed-door meeting with Umno division information chiefs and pro-Barisan Nasional groups.

A report by news portal The Malaysian Insider quoted a participant in the meeting saying that the prime minister claimed he can solve the controversies surrounding the strategic fund in two months at the earliest.

“Earliest is two months, but at any rate, he said he will solve it by the end of the year,” said Hasan Hamzah, who leads a group called Gabungan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu.

The report was not corroborated by any other attendee.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is pressuring Najib to resign over 1MDB and its RM42 billion in debt, among others.

Najib has rejected the demands, saying Dr Mahathir was only using 1MDB as a ruse to depose him and was not truly interested in seeking answers to the questions he has repeatedly posed.