Bounty for exposing Dr M: Good idea, but flawed method

June 6, 2015

CAGM is exposing itself to a devastating defamation suit by the former PM.

COMMENT

by Khalid Ahmad

Congratulation to Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAGM) for coming up with the noble idea of rewarding informants who can prove Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s alleged corruption. I love it. Malaysians can all go information hunting now for the bounty.

The members of this group must be a bunch of honest and sincere people themselves – and generous to boot, considering the RM1 million they are offering. I assume they have plenty more stashed somewhere.

However, while the idea is good, the implementation has been flawed right from the start.

You see, you should not name your target before you have any evidence on him. If CAGM fails to get any evidence on Mahathir, it will be an easy target for a RM1 billion defamation suit by the former prime minister.

Is RM1 billion too much? Certainly not, since Mahathir is a global personality and he was the PM for 22 years. Furthermore, in the age of the Internet, a defamatory statement spreads across the world instantly.

So, how can CAGM achieve its objective? I suggest that it widen its target. It should check on all prime ministers, deputy prime ministers, chief ministers, secretaries-general, directors-general, municipality presidents and many more officials – past and present.

So, CAGM, get the billions ready. This is much better than BRIM because we have to earn it.

I am for you.

Khalid Ahmad is an FMT reader.

With a firm belief in freedom of expression and without prejudice, FMT tries its best to share reliable content from third parties. Such articles are strictly the writer’s personal opinion. FMT does not necessarily endorse the views or opinions given by any third party content provider.

 http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2015/06/06/bounty-for-exposing-dr-m-good-idea-but-flawed-method/

Scandal-hit 1MDB should halt further business deals

Lin KayKay

 | May 11, 2015

Singapore Business Times says 1MDB should not undertake major business decisions while it is under investigation.

KUALA LUMPUR: A major Singapore business newspaper has ventured in an op-ed, for 1MDB, it cannot be business as usual, that the Ministry of Finance-owned strategic investment arm should not be engaging in further deals when it is reportedly under investigation.

Besides, 1MDB has seen a redrawing of the battle lines in Malaysian politics with calls for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to step down and others, including his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin, criticising him.

The Business Times was referring to a land deal where 1MDB left the Lembaga Tabung Haji with 1.56 acres of land in Kuala Lumpur for a whopping RM188.5 million. “It should not be making major business decisions like these. It should not have been allowed to do so.”

“The controversy arises because 1MDB has not addressed various allegations and struggled to repay a RM2 billion loan.”

It’s a question of ethics, the paper stressed, and pointed out that both the Auditor General’s Office (A-G) and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have yet to reveal their findings, if any, so far.

“The reality is that when it comes to 1MDB and for as long as trust remains broken and the outcome of the probe was not yet known, commercial merits on their own are insufficient grounds to embark on any deals, in whatever shape and form, involving the firm and public funds,” said the paper.

If 1MDB had aspired for a business-as-usual backdrop to conduct its strategic review, the paper added, then it should have stepped up its response to the controversy and put the allegations to rest without having to wait for the outcome of the investigations. “But it hasn’t done this.”

“There’s lack of progress on the probes ordered in March.”

Interestingly, besides a change of CEO, the 1MDB board members remain the same. “This is the same board that oversaw the RM42 billion debts chalked up by the company (in five years) and none have been charged, let alone implicated.”

“This is despite the inability of the firm to dismiss the various allegations.”

In the wake of the land deal, the paper said, the conflict of interest situation involving both LTH and 1MDB have become more apparent. “Ismee Ismail is the pilgrim fund’s CEO and 1MDB board director, although it was clarified on Saturday that he abstained from voting on the deal.”

Aside from Ismee, Irwan Siregar, the secretary-general of the Finance Ministry which owns 1MDB, advises it, and is a director of LTH.

 http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/05/11/scandal-hit-1mdb-should-halt-further-business-deals/