Entire Cabinet responsible for 1MDB: Razaleigh
Published on: Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: The entire Cabinet should be held responsible for the problems facing 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said, adding that the onus was not on the prime minister alone.Tengku Razaleigh, popularly known as Ku Li, said if the Cabinet members were not aware of 1MDB's issues, they should investigate it rather than point fingers at others."Everybody there (in the Cabinet) must be responsible collectively for the problem. You cannot say this is your problem, not my problem," the former finance minister told reporters when met in the Parliament lobby.
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"So long as you're a member of the Cabinet, whether you know or don't know what goes on in the government, you are equally responsible."Tengku Razaleigh said it was unreasonable for cabinet members to claim ignorance about the scandal, given that many had already spoken out on 1MDB."The others know, how come the members of the Cabinet don't know? Busy with other things?" asked the Gua Musang MP.But he was reluctant to share his own views regarding the debt-ridden state investment arm, saying that he wished to get the "total picture" first.
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He said that 1MDB was being "bandied about as something irregular and something bordering on the brink of fraud", but added that he would wait for the official statement to come out."We are only relying on the information that comes out from dribs and drabs from various sources. "So let us look at the total picture. At the moment, even the PAC (Public Accounts Committee) is arranging how to look at this problem."
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The parliamentary bipartisan committee began its own hearings on the matter last Tuesday, after deciding not to wait for an independent probe by the auditor-general to be completed.Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had ordered the national auditor to conduct a probe and pass its findings along to the PAC for transparency. But mounting criticism amid exposes by whistle-blower website Sarawak Report led PAC to launch its inquiry earlier.Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has openly criticised the government's handling of the issue, saying that even he did not know how to explain to the public the problems surrounding 1MDB, which has incurred debts of RM42 billion in just six years of operations. Tengku Razaleigh also referred to discrepancies in the Prime Minister's written answers in Parliament regarding 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), saying he could be cited for misleading the Dewan Rakyat."It is left up to the respective parties in the House to move such a motion."The discrepancy was in a written reply in March from Najib, who is also Finance Minister, regarding some RM4bil of 1MDB funds in cash brought back from the Cayman Islands and placed in BSI Bank, a Swiss Bank based in Singapore.But in a subsequent written reply in May, the funds were said to be in assets, which Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah later clarified was in the form of units.Razaleigh, who is Gua Musang MP, said that it must be first determined if Najib's answers were factual or not. "If the Prime Minister elects to correct the wrong information given, then this cannot be considered a lie," he said. However, he noted that Najib should not breach any privilege given to him in his capacity as an MP.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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