PUTRAJAYA, Aug 4 — Minister Datuk Paul Low assured civil society groups that he would raise their concerns with the Cabinet about the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy after they presented him a memorandum today.
In the memorandum handed by representatives from human rights groups Suaram, the National Human Rights Society (Hakam), and electoral reform group Bersih 2.0, six demands were made including asking the government to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry into 1MDB and to declassify the Auditor-General’s report on the state investment firm.
“I duly took note of their views and assured them that I will bring their concerns to the attention of the Cabinet,” Low, who is Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of governance, integrity and human rights, said in a statement.
Hakam president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, who had led the group, told reporters outside the Prime Minister’s Office that they have “made demands of the ministers, cabinet ministers and all MPs that they must immediately do something about the 1MDB scandal”.
“The position of ‘Malaysian Official 1’ is untenable and it cannot carry on. And something must be done. I think enough is enough. And we are going to send this memorandum to every single minister and MP.”
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed a civil lawsuit seeking the forfeiture and recovery of more than US$1 billion in assets linked to what it described as an “international conspiracy to launder funds misappropriated” from 1MDB, the largest case ever brought by the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.
In its lawsuit, the DOJ identified “Malaysian Official 1” as a high-ranking government official with authority in 1MDB, but did not name the figure.
