KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 ― Datuk Zaid Ibrahim accused Malay leaders in the government of cowardice in handling scandals involving their peers, and suggested that non-Malays replace them in the future so Malaysians could get answers to existing scandals.
The former de facto law minister conceded that it was possibly unfair to label Malays as “cowards”, but said he was compelled to do so as it was “plain” that some members of the community in Putrajaya and the Public Accounts Committee lacked “gumption”.
“In future, it will be better to have more Chinese, Ibans, Dayaks and Kadazans and Muruts to hold the country’s top key positions. Posts such as Speaker of Parliament, PAC chief, IGP and MACC chief should be given to them for a change,” he said in a blog post yesterday.
“We also have many good Indian and Punjabi lawyers who can be Chief Justices and the Attorney-General.”
The crux of Zaid’s contention was the unresolved controversies over state-owned 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and the RM2.6 billion deposited into Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s accounts in 2013.
Zaid said that while “everyone” including the Malay Rulers wanted to know whether the two issues were being properly investigated, Malaysians were given only “dishonest answers” and treated as though stupid.
The latest incident he cited involved Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin who declared it unnecessary to question Najib for the parliamentary watchdog’s probe on 1MDB.
Hasan caused an ensuing controversy when he followed the declaration with an off-the-cuff remark that he needed to “cari makan”, before later discontinuing all future press conferences by the PAC after accusing the media of wrongly reporting his comment.
“Whenever we have scandals, whether financial or otherwise, we need Malaysians who have the courage and integrity to deal with the matter properly.”
"We need people that we can believe in. We have had enough of the Malays,” Zaid wrote.
