KUANTAN, June 22 — Khairil Nizam Khirudin today crowed that PAS has been vindicated of taking money from Umno that is alleged to belong to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), based on its absence from the list of five political parties named by the national anti-corruption body in its lawsuit.
The newly appointed PAS Youth chief demanded an open apology from all those who had linked the Islamist party as a beneficiary of former prime minister and ex-Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s generosity with the sovereign investment fund’s cash.
“It was frequently used to demonise us, so thank God no one was involved in it,” Khairil told a press conference on the second day of the 65th PAS annual congress at the Pahang Sports Complex's Indoor Stadium.
He was referring to the civil forfeiture suit filed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) against 41 individuals and organisations on Tuesday, as part of the agency's efforts to recover some RM270 million connected to 1MDB.
Khairul said those who “demonised” PAS included members of the current federal government and that they had made such allegations in the run-up to the 14th general election last year.
MACC chief Latheefa Koya released a list of 41 recipients it had named in its civil forfeiture lawsuit filed at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
Seven individuals were named in the list, as were three non-governmental organisations, five foundations, 12 companies and five political parties and the Johor Baru chapter of the Barisan Nasional coalition.
PAS was excluded from the list of political entities while Umno and its allies were featured prominently.
The RM270 million funds are reported to have come from Najib's personal AmBank account.
