Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak has denied that the anti-fake news law is aimed at silencing debate on the 1MDB.
“But this is not true. There is nothing to stop anyone from debating or talking about 1MDB,” Salleh said in a blog posting this morning in response to critics.
However, he said, the issue is when a person spreads false information as “news” and “facts”.
“For example, we keep hearing ‘news’ that RM42 billion of 1MDB’s money has ‘disappeared’ into thin air when this has been officially explained and proven false.
“The bigger issue here is to deal with the irresponsible spread of such fake ‘news’ and ‘facts’, which applies to many other situations in our lives,” he added.
Salleh pointed out that when a lie is repeated many times, the people believe it to be the truth.
The Communications Minister himself has now confirmed what everyone has suspected, which is that the ‘Fake News’ bill is all about protecting Najib Razak over the 1MDB scandal and all his other corruptions. To silence the critics and cover-up.
The problem is that the world can see that it is all these cover-ups that are the Fake News, as Salleh’s claims and antics become all the more contradictory and ridiculous.
On this occasion he is claiming that ‘Fake News’ providers are saying that RM42 million “disappeared into thin air”. In fact, what people are saying is that the money was traced by MACC investigators from 1MDB’s subsidiary SRC into Najib’s bank account, where amongst other things it was used to pay for a very wasteful and ineffective anti-ageing treatment for his wife.
We know this, because the documents have been leaked and the details corroborated, including the cheque paid to the anti-ageing doctor in that particular case, which was confirmed by his alternative medicine association boss.
Not only that, Salleh’s own Attorney General waved the MACC papers that showed the same money trail in front of cameras at the very press conference Salleh is referring to when he says “this has been officially explained and proven false”.
As the facts pile up world-wide in this 1MDB investigation, amidst asset seizures, court rulings, jail sentences and all the rest. Salleh and Najib are left only bleating ‘Fake News, Fake News’.
It has become a very sad joke at the expense of the dignity of Malaysia.
Despite the probe into 1MDB in several countries, there is “no case” against it and all allegations involving it are part of a “political game”, Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Zahrain Mohamed Hashim said.
“There is no case. The police, MACC and the attorney-general have studied (the 1MDB case) and found there are no elements of fraud. It is the same case in the Parliament.
“There is no theft involved, no missing funds and no illegal flow of funds from 1MDB. 1MDB is formally still in business,” he was quoted as saying.
Zahrain also said that it has been established that no money from 1MDB – started by the government to develop investment and business – had been channelled into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s personal account, as alleged in a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The RM2.6 billion in Najib’s account was instead a gift from a Saudi Arabian donor, he stressed.
Zahrain also questioned why US authorities did not liaise with their Malaysian counterparts if they were “sincere” in addressing the 1MDB issue.
There is a simple question to be put to the latest joker to dance naked on behalf of Najib Razak.
If the Attorney General’s report exonerates 1MDB, then why was it unconstitutionally declared an Official Secret?
Furthermore, if “there is no case” how does he describe the civil case in the US, now pending whilst the criminal side of the investigation gets under way? If there is no action, how does he describe the forceable seizure of the yacht Equanimy in Indonesia and Jho Low’s jet in Singapore?
If no imprisonments, how does he explain the present incarcerations of Khadem Al Qubaisi, Mohammed al Husseini and Prince Turki in their various jurisdictions? All were key players in the 1MDB scams.
And why are Jho Low, Casey Tang, Jasmine Loo, Nik Faisal et al all on the run afraid to show their faces? Why did Jho Low buy himself a St Kitts & Nevis Island passport?
Lastly, why did Riza Aziz’s personally owned company Red Granite Pictures just plead a deal with the US authorities and pony up US$61 million, in a plain admission that the money was – as stated only too clearly in the DOJ submissions – stolen from 1MDB?
Sadly, the Malaysian government has now evolved into a fully fledged criminal enterprise and its representatives have been transformed into gangsters of the sort that deny even the most glaring and obvious facts when challenged.
If the people want to be governed by such shameful shysters it is up to them, but they ought not to forgive these thieves and liars for attempting to steal the election as well as the country’s wealth.
The cost of retrieving the A$320,000 (approximately RM1 million) seized by Australian authorities was too prohibitive for Bukit Aman CID chief Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd.
According to inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun, Wan Ahmad does wish to retrieve the sum but could not afford to do so.
“He wants (the money back). That is his right. But to him, the procedure (involved)… will cost him a lot more money,” he told a press conference in Bukit Aman today..,,
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Federal Police alleged that the money channelled into Wan Ahmad’s bank account contained laundered money or proceeds of crime.
There was a large number of deposits in the bank account for about a month, with each deposit being under A$10,000 – the threshold which would have red-flagged the account.
Shame on this IGP for not immediately sacking the top cop who dares not step into an Australian witness box to explain how a million ringgit ended up being anonymously sneaked into his bank account.
Here is none other than the Head of CID, responsible for clearing up organised crime all over Malaysia, himself the subject of an enquiry about a huge sum of unnaccounted cash and he claims it would be ‘too expensive’ to claim it back.
What this cop can’t afford is to be forced to answer questions in front of a judge in court, so he would rather surrender the million ringgit after being caught red handed and hide back in KL.
Would he allow any of the fellons he caught red handed in this manner to get away with such a thing? Malaysians will be forgiven for now thinking maybe yes he would…. as long as they pay a large sum into an Australian bank account, no questions asked.
Unless this top cop steps forward and answers for this million ringgit bank account, Malaysians would also be forgiven for concluding that the worst criminals are those running the country and these top cops are now part of the crime syndicate in charge.
They ought to all be fired.
The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has not shown any “tangible proof” that Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, is the owner of a yacht seized in Indonesia, said Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak.
“Until today, apart from bare allegations contained in the DoJ civil lawsuit, which has been put on hold since August last year, the DoJ has not shown any tangible proof that Low is the actual owner of the yacht or that it was purchased with funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
“Furthermore, the DoJ has yet to prove any of its allegations in a court of law, despite nearly two years passing since its sensationalised press conference of July 2016,” said the Communications and Multimedia Minister in his blog Thursday (March 1).
He added that the Opposition, however, has taken the opportunity to “mislead” Malaysians by using “unverified and unproven” allegations about the yacht Equanimity which was seized in Bali by Indonesian authorities.
Silly Salleh clearly thinks Malaysians are stupid enough to believe this!
Why does he imagine that Jho Low has been jumping up and down and issuing statements complaining about the seizure – yelling like a screaming toddler at the confiscation of an illicit toy?
Would Jho Low have emerged from months of purdah to express outrage over “global over-reach” and the general unfairness of removing the boat, if it wasn’t his?
And, far from failing to prove the ownership and purchase, the DOJ have to the contrary detailed each and every payment made by Jho to purchase the vessel, tracing the money through the global banking system right back to 1MDB. It’s all in the court documents, if Salleh is up to reading them…. he is clearly banking on Malaysians not being able to!
There is one point where the minister may be right of course. The ultimate owner is clearly not Jho Low, but his ‘Big Boss’ – MO1 and the wife in charge…… or maybe the correct tense is WAS the owner, since it is now a seized asset.
The Court of Appeal took judicial notice today that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has been cleared by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the attorney-general, the police, the MACC and Bank Negara with regard to allegations on the 1MDB scandal.
Justice Yaacob Md Sam said this in dismissing the appeal by Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua to set aside an interim injunction imposed on him by the High Court.
The injunction was granted to Najib against Pua’s claim in a Facebook Live session last April that the tabling of amendments to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355) by PAS in Parliament was to divert attention from 1MDB.
“The court recognises that any MP can introduce a private member’s bill on any matter and it is the discretion of the Speaker (of the Dewan Rakyat) to allow the tabling.
“The allegation of a collusion with PAS is merely an assumption by Pua as he should know that, for any private member’s bill, the MP can crave leave from the Speaker of the House to table it,” Justice Yaacob said.
The judge accuses the member of parliament (and member of the PAC referred to) of making assumptions.
However, the judge goes on to make some pretty big assumptions of his own, on which he bases the odd decision to allow the censorship of the member of parliament’s valid opinions on a highly controversial matter.
The judge opines that the Bank Negara, MACC, PAC and Attorney General had all ‘cleared’ the Prime Minister over 1MDB. Yet that is an assumption, since the first three all pointed out serious concerns over 1MDB and called for further investigations, which have been blocked by the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General.
The Attorney General did indeed ‘clear’ the Prime Minister, however only after his predecessor had been sacked at gunpoint as he was about to press charges naming the Prime Minister for stealing money from 1MDB. It ought to be noted also, that it is not the AG’s position to ‘clear’ the PM, only to decide whether or not to prosecute him, over which he ought to take the advice of investigators, but refused to do so (presumably in the light of what happened to his predecessor).
The Appeal Court judges also owe their positions to the influence of the Prime Minister, who has also just unconstitutionally extended the tenure of the present Chief Justice. This might just explain the sort of decisions we have seen, including this and indeed the outrageous reversal of a High Court acquital of the opposition leader, which was in total violation of judicial procedures.
Recalibration and reform appear necessary.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will hit the Johor campaign trail with a series of high profile visits to the northern region of the state tomorrow.
He will begin his tour by visiting the Pagoh constituency on Friday, the bastion of his former deputy Muhyiddin Yassin who has served seven terms as the Pagoh MP.
……It would also appear that the event will be a major show of force.
“Not only will 3,000 Felda Maokil settlers be there, there will also be 7,000 Pagoh BN activists and voters there as well,” he said.
It seems that Najib knows exactly how many enthusiastic ‘followers’ are going to turn up at his events tomorrow.
This is not just a prediction: his spokesmen confidently proclaim that 3,000 Felda settlers and 7,000 BN activists will be there!
Could this possibly be because the Prime Minister has long since bought and paid for these people to be there and arranged their transportation, picnics and matching T-shirts to be handed out?
One suspects that’s why BN know exactly how many will come, because that is what they have provided for!
In which case, how was this staged event funded? You can guess that as well – from money filched from the public pocket.
A group of European Union envoys met the chairman of Malaysia’s opposition alliance Pakatan Harapan (PH) Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday (Jan 25).
The two-hour meeting was held at the residence of the head of delegation of the EU to Malaysia Maria Castillo Fernández, according to the Facebook account of Abdul Kadir Jasin, a supreme council member of Tun Dr Mahathir’s political party.
Among the issues discussed were the Malaysian general election and developments surrounding the action taken by EU countries on the scandal involving state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, Datuk Abdul Kadir wrote.
Those present were 14 EU ambassadors and three charges d’affaires and several top opposition leaders from the four-party PH, he said.
Just one woman in the whole of Europe’s line of of ambassadors to Malaysia…. or was someone absent?
The first thing that is sticks out of this photo of EU Ambassadors, brought together to meet the new leader of the opposition by the Head of the EU Delegation to Malaysia, is the scarcity of top women diplomats.
Never mind, these guys are clearly doing a good job of showing an even-handed approach towards Malaysia’s alternative political party (after all the opposition coalition got more of the popular vote at the last election than BN).
The discussion focussed on, amongst other things, 1MDB, which the EU has been forthright in condemning. The EU Parliament has also issued a statement of forthright condemnation against Najib’s crackdown on human rights as he has sought to silence critics of corruption.
However, the gender gap did not need to be as marked as it appears from this photo, because of course the UK High Commissioner is also a woman and Britain remains of this moment a member of the EU.
There was without doubt a diplomatic excuse provided for the absence of Vicky Treadell from this significant occasion and it would of course have had nothing to do with the fact that ‘Malaysia’s best friend’ in the Conservative Party, Lord Marland is a passionate supporter of Najib Razak and is currently now in a business relationship with the former Foreign Office Minister, the Conservative MP Hugo Swire. Both men attended Najib’s Trade Mission to London at the height of the 1MDB scandal in 2016.
The UK is now looking forward to a post-Brexit world and trying to do bilateral deals with governments like Malaysia. Yet, their Foreign and Commonwealth Office seems to be putting all its eggs in one basket as to who will be leading that government after the next election. The British Malaysia Society (representing business interests) has also made clear that its money is on Najib – attendees at a recent address given by Treadell to such groupings in London (before Mahathir’s election to the top opposition post) report she said that Najib was certain to win.
Clearly, Dr Mahathir’s old maxim of “Buy British Last” is not to be forgiven by the current political movers and shakers behind the men in Whitehall!
Yet, one assumes that such passive gestures as not turning up to meet the new opposition leader have not gone further into any form of active interventions in favour of the human rights abuser and kleptocrat so favoured by elements of British business?
Shahrir questioned why would the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) initiate a forensic audit to probe the matter if Najib was in the know.
“If Felda did not know, how would the PMO know; no one knew, be it Felda, or its board of directors – after the transfer of ownership was done, even the Felda Investment Corporation (FIC) was not informed.
“If the PM knew, why would he ask (Felda) to investigate and lodge a police report. The actions were initiated by the PM, he was the one who ordered (Felda) to take actions (against the transaction).”
Shahrir was responding to questions raised by PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli that urged Shahrir to answer whether Najib was involved in the scandal since Felda comes under PMO.
By the same token, why did Najib initiate a Task Force Investigation into 1MDB?
The answer is, to pretend he was innocent and knew nothing about what was going on, when in fact he could hardly fail to have noticed the billion dollars that had gone into his own bank account!
Given there was a known thief at the scene Sharir must accetp that it is natural for people to ask for him to be investigated with regard to this further disappearance.
Almost half of the US$3.5 billion corruption proceeds which have been seized by the US government came from the 1MDB-related civil forfeiture suits, revealed US attorney-general Jeff Sessions.
“Nearly half of the US$3.5 billion in corruption proceeds we have restrained is related to just one enforcement action.
“That action was related to a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund known as 1MDB,” Sessions said during his speech at the Global Forum on Asset Recovery in Washington DC yesterday.
He said that allegedly corrupt officials and their associates had reportedly used the 1MDB funds for a “lavish spending spree” such as US$200 million for real estate in South California and New York, US$130 million in artwork, US$100 million in an American music label and a US$265 million yacht…
It couldn’t have been spoken on a more appropriate day. As Najib opened his Annual Kleptocrat Conference, otherwise known as the UMNO General Assembly, America’s top law enforcer, Jeff Sessions, labelled their regime as ‘kleptocracy at its worst’. Who could disagree?
So, Malaysians who have been too easily persuaded by claims, made either by Najib cheer-leaders or by opposition doom-mongers, that the PM’s ‘golfing pal’ President Donald Trump will use his powers to close the 1MDB investigation, must now think again. It won’t happen.
Trump’s own hand-picked Attorney General, a scourge of the former Democrat government, which launched the 1MDB investigation, has made it crystal clear that he is backing the joint FBI investigation and is proud of its stand against kleptocracy.
After this very public show of commitment, Malaysians can rest assured that the US Government will not be pulling back on 1MDB, however many dozens of Boeing jets Najib pledges to buy.
After all, Donald Trump is not having much luck pulling the DOJ off investigating his own affairs, let alone getting a favour done for a foreign corrupted leader – even if he wanted to.
Kleptocracy means government by thieves. So, when Jeff Sessions calls 1MDB “kleptocracy at its worst” he is surely supporting the views expressed in the current main article on Sarawak Report.
https://sarawakreport.collateral-freedom.org/2017/12/safe-and-secure-with-a-thief-holding-the-keys-to-your-house-your-pin-number-and-code-to-your-office-safe/