The Malaysian Insight

AN UMNO leader today played down the losses suffered by state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), saying it was only money, and Umno should not be punished for it.

Pasir Salak Umno chief Tajuddin Abdul Rahman pointed out that Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the chief critic of the 1MDB scandal, also suffered huge financial losses during his administration.

“His mega projects like Proton and others suffered losses, yet we did not ask him to step down but continue to solve the problem. It is just money,” said Tajuddin, who is also Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister.

Dr Mahathir stepped down as a prime minister after 22 years, passing the baton to Abdullah Badawi. Najib Razak took over as prime minister in 2009, with Dr Mahathir’s consent.

Tajuddin further said that the 1MDB investigation was still not over because the government was still chasing the culprit.

“Do not burn the home of the Malays (Umno). Where would they go to for help?” he said.

Tajuddin said that votes for BN will not be affected by the Felda Global Ventures (FGV) issue because government had done its part to bring the company out of trouble.

“It is not like the government is sitting around and doing nothing. Action has been taken. Even the MACC (Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission) has launched investigation into FGV,” he said, adding the same applied to Felda Investment Corporation Sdn Bhd.

“The prime minister has also announced many incentives to ease the burden of Felda settlers, so I don’t think those issues will affect BN votes,” he said.

There are numerous investigations under way around the world, including three civil suits filed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ), while Singapore has prosecuted those involved in 1MDB within its borders.

Most recently, the DoJ moved to seize another US$540 million (RM2.3 billion) in assets allegedly bought with money stolen from 1MDB, bringing the misappropriated figure from 1MDB to US$4.5 billion. – July 30, 2017.