KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang today said November 11 and November 16 will determine whether Malaysia is headed towards being a world-class nation or if kleptocracy was creeping back into the fora.
November 11 will be the date when former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will see a judgment that sees him walk free or ordered to enter his defence.
While November 16 is the Tanjung Piai by-election, whereby Lim said the outcome would tell if Malaysians are still in support of the Pakatan Harapan regime.
“Next week will go a long way to decide whether Malaysia takes the turn towards a nation of integrity or we backtrack to again allow a global kleptocracy to make a come-back,” he said in a statement.
Lim also included how anti-corruption movement Transparency International (TI) recently released a list of 25 corruption scandals over as many years “that shook the world”, pointing out that the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal had made the list.
He noted how Malaysia was the only country yet to jail anyone accused of wrongdoings related to the scandal, unlike other nations which have condemned several bankers and finance officers to imprisonment for corruption.
He suggested that such things would not come true if supporters of kleptocrats are allowed back into the political scene, effectively making the historic decision of the 14th General Election last May as meaningless.
“This is why the Tanjong Piai by-election on November 16 is very important for one of the issues the by-election will decide is whether the long-term effort of the Pakatan Harapan government to root out the 1MDB scandal and other corruption scandals as in FELDA, FELCRA, TABUNG HAJI, MARA; and other institutions still have the support of the people of Malaysia, sending the corrupt to jail to pay for their crimes.
“Or whether a global kleptocracy will be able to make a come-back in Malaysia,” he wrote.
