KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — DAP’s Lim Kit Siang and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will convene a meeting with all progressive MPs at Parliament next Tuesday to discuss Malaysia’s future after an exposé by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) allegedly linking an outflow of US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) into the personal bank accounts of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Lim said that the meeting was “most relevant and urgent” now that the Prime Minister faced embezzlement claims from WSJ as well as by a “government probe.”
“I have discussed with Parliamentary Opposition Leader and Chairman of PKR, Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, and she has agreed with the convening of a meeting of progressive MPs in Parliament on Tuesday at 12 noon to consider the impact, implications and Malaysia’s future as a result of the WSJ allegation and the Attorney-General’s confirmation on the existence of document from a government special task force probe on the serious charge of embezzlement against the Prime Minister,” he said in a statement today.
The DAP lawmaker also said that MPs from Barisan Nasional (BN) who may be unhappy about recent events are also welcomed to attend the meeting next Tuesday.
“I do not believe that there is no one in the UMNO/BN coalition, whether among their MPs or political leaderships, who is not disgusted with the corruption, abuses of power and malpractices which have become even more rampant than previous times, and if there are such progressive MPs in the Umno/BN coalition, they are also welcome to Parliament on Tuesday to collectively ponder the question: ‘Quo Vadis Malaysia with a Prime Minister accused of embezzlement not only by Wall Street Journal but also by a government probe’,” he said, referring to the Latin phrase ‘Quo Vadis Malaysia’ which means ‘where are you going Malaysia?’
This comes after the Journal revealed on Friday that its 1MDB investigators have discovered five separate deposits from two sources that were made into Najib’s accounts, citing government documents that it claimed to have viewed.
The largest two transactions, it said, were for US$621 million (RM2.3 billion) and US$61 million allegedly made in March 2013, shortly before the tumultuous Election 2013 in May.
A further transfer of RM42 million, purportedly made into Najib’s account at the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015, is believed to have come from SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1MDB that was in 2012 parked under the Finance Ministry that Najib heads, WSJ said.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said in a statement yesterday that a special team was investigating the controversial claim, adding that the team raided the offices of three companies that had been affiliated with the state investor yesterday.
Abdul Gani’s statement came hot on the heels of another statement by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin calling for an immediate investigation into claims of large stashes of money being transferred into the prime minister’s personal pockets just months ahead of Malaysia’s tumultuous 13th general elections two years ago.
