Sad Rulers need to make statement, says Rafidah

Kuala Lumpur: Veteran Umno member Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz on Thursday expressed sadness that the Conference of Malay Rulers needed to make a rare public statement on an "issue," an indirect reference to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). The former International Trade and Industry Minister did not specifically mention 1MDB, but the Malay Rulers have only issued a statement urging Putrajaya to take urgent action on the state-owned investor in recent days.

"Having seen this scenario unfold, from individuals to groups to NGOs and to the public at large and now the rulers' council enunciating certain sentiments, and proposing certain things to be done, I think it's time to take note that all these things need to be done promptly. Expeditiously," she told reporters after her address at the Malaysian Legal and Corporate Conference here.

She said that issue needed to be resolved quickly and should not be allowed to drag on until it became a further controversy, adding that the scandal has international ramifications. During her speech, she likened the unnamed issue to the haze, and said both needed to be addressed.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Keeper of the Rulers' Seal, Datuk Seri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad, the Malay Rulers said that investigations into 1MDB must be made public in order to show that nothing was being hidden in the probe on the state-owned investment firm.

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Improper handling of the 1MDB controversy and related investigations could also affect the economy and even threaten national security, the rulers said.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Thursday responded to say that Putrajaya heeded the rulers' concern, but was already taking the actions they suggested.

Meanwhile, Rafidah said the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will open up markets that Malaysia could not otherwise tap.

The former Trade Minister said Malaysia's negotiator would naturally look to protect the country's interests and that politicising the TPP would only affect their objectivity. "There is going to be a cost. But if the benefits far outweigh the cost, why [interrupt]? You can't win everything," she said.

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"And to me, Malaysia is a small market, what is it that we can lose? We have more to gain, so I hope that people, the public, would understand this and not influence the government such that the government feels hard pressed to even make proper offers."

She added that despite not knowing the details of the negotiations, the public must have faith in the country's negotiators.

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