KUALA LUMPUR — Former DAP lawmaker Tony Pua has poked fun at Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s apology for the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, reminding him of other details that suggest deeper knowledge of misappropriated funds.
In a sarcastic post on Facebook, Pua, who had been a vocal MP in raising 1MDB irregularities in Parliament, said Najib was “not responsible” for many things.
“I’m not responsible for sacking my Deputy PM to cover up 1MDB.
“I’m not responsible for sacking the Attorney-General to cover up 1MDB.
“I’m not responsible for sacking the MACC Chief and Special Branch Chief to cover up 1MDB,” Pua wrote.
These references pertain to the removal of then deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, then Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail, then Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed, who were removed from their posts while Najib was prime minister and news of the 1MDB scandal was already in the headlines.
Also removed then was Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador, then Special Branch deputy chief, and not chief as Pua wrote.
Najib yesterday apologised “unreservedly” for the 1MDB scandal, saying it “pains him every day” that it happened while he was prime minister and oversaw the fund as finance minister.
However, the former Pekan MP also insisted he was innocent and cited recent convictions in a Switzerland court of PetroSaudi officials, as well as news reports that analysed the scandal, which showed he could not have been the mastermind behind 1MDB’s stolen funds.
Pua listed other things Najib was “not responsible” for, such as the US$27mil 22-carat pink diamond bought for wife Datin Seri Rosmah Manor and other jewellery and luxury goods.
The former Petaling Jaya MP also listed the “secret RM3 billion government guarantee letter” for 1MDB bonds, and “lopsided super over-priced deals with Chinese companies to cover up 1MDB debt” as other things Najib was “not responsible” for.
“I just have to say I’m sorry for being the stupidest and slowest PM of Malaysia, for trusting the wrong parties who cheated Malaysians of tens of billions of ringgit.
“I should not be sitting in prison, even though I benefited immensely from the 1MDB largesse, in cash and in kind.
“It’s not my fault. Really,” Pua concluded in his satirical post.
Pua, and other Pakatan Harapan (PH) figures, had used the 1MDB scandal and allegations of Najib’s involvement as campaign material in the run-up to the 14th general election (GE14) in 2018, which saw Barisan Nasional (BN) ousted from federal power for the first time in six decades.
A few days after GE14 when PH took over the federal government, Najib stepped down as Umno president and BN chairman.
After his conviction for corruption in 1MDB former subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd in 2020, Najib began his prison sentence in August 2022, when he failed in his final bid at the Federal Court to overturn his conviction. – October 25, 2024