IMDB and Najib's personal accounts - an really independent investigation needed?

There is an allegation that monies have been transferred into the Najib, the Prime Minister's bank accounts - and as such the Prime Minister is directly implicated. 

The question really is not whether he used the money for himself - but rather did it happen, and why did it happen? Is there any person implicated that warrants the government proceeding with criminal and civil cases?

As the Prime Minister is directly implicated, naturally he should not be involved in appointing persons to any 'special task force to investigate, and certainly he should not be also providing the mandate to any such investigation team. Neither can the DPM or any other Ministers, and certainly no person that have been chosen(or not removed) by Najib and the Cabinet.

In such a case, it should really be the Parliament(the Legislative) or the King that appoints and mandates an investigation and the parameters of the investigation.

On its own, the Anti-Corruption body and the police should also be investigating... 

On its own, the Auditor General must be doing its investigation as well... of the 1MDB, related companies and individuals.

REPORTING BACK - it really should be back to the people and Parliament > certainly not back only to Najib, his cabinet or the executive. 

In this case, we need strong independent people to be involved in the investigation - maybe Human Rights Commissioners, Opposition Party Reps, Bar Council, MTUC, Retired Judges, BN Backbenchers, etc...certainly not any who have voiced any opinion or comment on the matter...

Sad to say, personally I just do not trust our IGP or AG to be involved in this investigation...

 

PAS: PM must not define scope of probe on him

 

It was wrong for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to set out the scope of the special task force, set up to investigate how RM2.6 billion was allegedly deposited in his personal accounts.

 
This is according to PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, who questioned Najib's statement yesterday, where the premier said the issue being probed was whether he had used 1MDB funds for his personal interest.

"Such a statement will invite perceptions that the special task force is not independent, and had received instructions from Najib, who is the accused," he said.

"This is not right and not good in his efforts to clear his name," said the Islamic party leader.

In his blog yesterday, Najib had spelled out the scope of the task force.

"The investigation by the special task force is to determine whether WSJ's allegation that I took 1MDB funds for my personal interest has any basis or not.

"The investigation must consider the veracity of the documents published by the newspaper to support their actions," said Najib.

Tuan Ibrahim (photo) also asserted what was worse was that the four in the task force, worked under the premier.

They are attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail, inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar, MACC chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed and governor of Bank Negara, Zeti Akhtar Aziz.

"As such, PAS reiterates that Najib should take leave so the investigation will be seen as transparent. If not, there will still be doubts on Najib, even if the team clears him," he said.

The PAS deputy president  added since Najib has repeatedly claimed innocence, the question if 1MDB had transferred the money to his account still lingers.

He asked if indeed the money was transferred, and with Najib saying he had never taken funds for personal gain, then what was the money for?

Thus, the scope of the task force, besides probing if 1MDB's funds were indeed transferred into bank accounts owned by Najib, should also include finding out where the money was subsequently channeled to, he said.

"Were any cheques issued from said account, received it and in whose interest?" he asked, adding the investigation should be conducted with the utmost urgency.

"Besides raiding 1MDB’s office, PAS proposes that its accounts be frozen to accelerate the investigation," he declared. - Malaysiakini. 9/7/2015





Jul 8, 2015

Malaysiakini

Najib: Task force probing 'if I used funds'

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today said the scope of the special task force investigating The Wall Street Journal's claims against him was whether he used 1MDB funds for his personal interest.

"The investigation by the special task force is to determine whether WSJ's allegation that I took 1MDB funds for my personal interest has basis or not.

"The investigation must consider the veracity of the documents published by the newspaper to support their actions," he said in a post on his blog today.

The special task force comprises officers from Bank Negara, the police, Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) and Attorney-general's chambers.

However, a detailed scope of their investigation has not been spelled out.

They have announced that six accounts have been frozen, but none belonged to the prime minister.

Can task force be trusted?

The first two statements from the task force were signed by Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, police chief Khalid Abu Bakar, MACC head Abu Kassim Mohamed and Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail.

However, the latest statement today was signed only by Gani.

Najib has refused to go on leave pending the outcome of the probe, as demanded by NGOs and opposition parties.

This has prompted three opposition MPs to point out that the heads of four agencies in the task force all report to the prime minister and thus could not be trusted to investigate the allegations independently.

Last Friday, the WSJ published an article citing unnamed Malaysian investigators that nearly RM2.6 billion had ended up in Najib's personal account.

After being challenged to show proof by Najib's supporters, WSJ published nine documents yesterday, which showed remitence forms and a letter from Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, who was described as the person who has power-of-attorney over the accounts. - Malaysiakini, 8/7/2015