The Malaysian Cabinet ought to have approved the actions of the then Finance Minister/Prime Minister that resulted in one of the biggest 'kleptocracy' scandal in the world - amounting to loss of billions of ringgit. They should have STOPPED it when they found it?
Should not then all members of the Cabinet be criminally liable for their actions or for their negligence? We need LAWS that criminalizes actions of Cabinet members, even if was negligently done.
Article 43(3) Federal Constitution says 'The Cabinet shall be collectively responsible to Parliament.'- should they also not be criminally liable for the 1MDB and related companies cases.
Cabinet ought to be the first and necessary CHECK AND BALANCE to prevent wrongdoings or crimes of any Minister, even the Prime Minister. If they failed to prevent it - then they should be charged in court for a crime.
Can any Minister do as he pleases with regard the Ministry he is responsible for - including making policy, deciding on new projects, deciding on who to give the project to, deciding in unlimited spending alone.... If so, is very dangerous...and Ministers and/or Deputy Ministers can very easily abuse their powers -
This must change, we need a LAW that governs Ministerial actions/failures, which should include the need for explicit Cabinet approval - when it comes to NEW policies, New Projects, New Agreements with 3rd parties that will bind Malaysia(including the people) to contractual obligations for years/decades even after that particular Minister has been 'kicked out' by the people or the Prime Minister, and even for excessive unjustifiable spending..[A Minister may be allowed to spend maybe RM500,000 maximum without Cabinet approval - but any higher amount should need maybe Cabinet approval, and if the sum is more than RM1 billion maybe Parliamentary approval for spending in his/her Ministry]. Will it be simple majority or two third majority or unanimous vote for Cabinet approval? - This is WHY we need a LAW that makes it clear.
That LAW must also provide for CRIMES(not MISCONDUCT) if the Minister or even Cabinet breaks the law..
It has been reported that Malaysia allegedly made RM200 million donation to Gaza.. QUESTION is who made this decision - PM Anwar alone or the Malaysian Cabinet? It was certainly not a Parliamentary decision...
Two years ago, we approved RM100 million in funds. Tonight I announce the government is channeling another RM100 million as a start. This aid is the Madani Government’s continued commitment to the Palestinian people.- Anwar Ibrahim, 25/8/2025 Rakyat Post
# Then the other question, is who exactly received the said monies - the Hamas government of Gaza, the Palestinian Authority, some other Palestinian Body, ....WHO? Did that RM200 million even reach the Palestinian Body - was any money taken for administration or middle men? How was the monies used for the Palestinian people.
{We recall that after the Tsunami, many Malaysians donated to help the Tsunami victims and to provide immediate relief - only to be told later that the government did not use the monies for immediate aid and relief - but kept the money to be used for post Tsunami reconstruction projects - people were angry, and thereafter many chose to donate through other more reliable 3rd party groups that made sure the victims get immediate aid and assistance not just in Indonesia, but also Malaysia].
So, the question is also where the RM200 million went, and how much reached the victims in Palestine is very RELEVANT] - THE PM must transparently inform the Malaysian public.
The Prime Minister is merely a MP who managed to get the support of the majority of MPs to become the Prime Minister. The Malaysian people DID NOT CHOOSE Anwar to be the Prime Minister - so MPs have the DUTY AND OBLIGATION to ensure the person they chose to be PM does no wrong - they have to ensure the Cabinet chosen by that PM does no wrong > If they do wrong, BLAME LIES WITH THE MPs themselves, who also have the power to remove a Prime Minister..
Does the Cabinet have no power to stop a Minister from doing something wrong? Do the Malaysian Cabinet adopt a position in 'blindly supporting' any decision of the Minister? Can the Prime Minister even overrule a bad decision of any Minister? WHAT IS THE LAW? MALAYSIA NEEDS A LAW THAT WILL CLEARLY LAY OUT, amongst others, that Cabinet considers and approves proposals of any Minister including spendings exceedings RM1 million.
The 1MDB scandal - Malaysia lost about RM50 Billion - It was because of the actions or negligence of the Finance Minister...and rightly the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
This is because a government owned 1MDB, thus what happened could not have happened save by reason of the Finance Minister's(or Prime Minister's, or Cabinets's) actions, as the Finance Minister was wholly responsible for 1MDB? If the Cabinet and Parliament were involved in the very beginning, would we have managed to avoid the 1MDB scandal?
One thing that happened was 1MDB paid the wrong or 'fake' company about RM3.5 Billion, meaning they still had to pay again the real recipients. HOW could this even happen with a Government owned and controlled company under the Finance Minister. Should the then Finance Minister be charged for this CRIME caused intentionally (or negligently as the Minister failed in his duties/responsibilities) - I say YES - we do not want to have incompetent, lazy or 'easily scammed' Ministers anymore > so Cabinet approval? Parliamentary involvement?
During this period, 1MDB and its subsidiaries made payments totalling about US$3.5 billion to Aabar Investment PJS Ltd that was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (hence, also known as Aabar BVI) and Aabar Investment PJS Ltd that was incorporated in the Seychelles (Aabar Seychelles). These payments to Aabar BVI and to Aabar Seychelles were later discovered to be wrongful as IPIC and the real Aabar confirmed that these entities were not within either the IPIC or Aabar group, and that neither IPIC nor Aabar had received any payments from those entities or assumed any liabilities on their behalf.
SO, why has the Minister, Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet NOT CHARGED in Court for their crimes, be it intentionally or by reason of negligence for matters concerning the 1MDB scandal?
Looking at the crimes that Najib has been charged for - it is not for crimes by reason of wrongful intentional or negligent actions of the Minister, being also the Minister responsible for that particular government owned or controlled company. For such crimes, it is IRRELEVANT to prove the said Minister made any monies himself...It should be a crime if the wrong resulted in LOSS to Malaysia...
The crimes that he has been charged so far has been in cases where he personally received monies/benefits one way or another - so do we not need CRIMES for Minister's actions/failures/etc - that resulted in great loss to the nation.
A unqualified person should NEVER be made a Minister. Now, Ministers are chosen by the Prime Minister only - should we have PM proposed Ministerial candidates be VETTED and APPROVED by Parliament before they are appointed as Ministers?
PUBLIC
APPOINTMENTS (PARLIAMENTARY APPROVAL) ACT - Did PM Anwar choose Rafizi
to be Minister because he was PKR Deputy Chief or because he was
qualified to be Minister? Time has come for vetting/approval by
Parliament of PM's proposed Ministers?
Some countries have such laws - this will only ensure CLEAN, TRUSTWORTHY, EFFICIENT...persons are appointed Ministers and given so much power to do things that will affect the Malaysian people...We are not OK with MPs made Ministers simply because to fulfill party quotas, or simply because they are political party leaders - we need truly qualified clean, efficient and trustworthy persons who can do the work of a Minister. - BERSIH, CEKAP DAN AMANAH
We need Ministers who will ensure not just their own Ministry to do work properly, but also the many other GLCs or Government Owned Companies under their Ministry do work/business correctly - if the Minister fails, he should be liable to be charged with a CRIME...Some MPs are good political leaders but they simply do not have the SKILLS or Capacity to be a Minister.
The MINISTER's power to do certain things need to be approved by Cabinet. The Government Procurement Bill is dangerous because it looks like the Finance Minister alone can spend as much as he wants - even the Prime Minister's or Cabinet's approval is NOT needed for the Finance Minister to spend billions or trillions of ringgit of the Malaysian peoples' monies. How could we pass such a DANGEROUS LAW, more so after the 1MDB scandal that caused Malaysia to suffer losses of about RM50 billion.
One call by the Opposition, including the Pakatan Harapan is to ensure that no one person should not hold both the position of Prime Minister and the position of Prime Minister > this was because then the Prime Minister(with the power to remove Ministers) is there to 'check and balance' or to prevent wrongdoings of the Finance Minister or any other Minister. THUS, we need the law to restrict powers of individual Minister - requiring always Cabinet and Prime Minister's approval before they do certain things...better entire Cabinet approval, not just the Prime Minister as the PM is now again also the Finance Minister..
The Government Procurement Bill is GOOD since finally we have an Act of Parliament that lays out how government procurement is DONE, compared to previously where Malaysians did not know how government procurement was done, or how the Prime Minister and Cabinet are spending money and how they spend the money. In that sense, it is GOOD and a step forward - BUT then it now has dangerous elements, as some important aspects were left out...See earlier post
Government
Procurement Bill - Too Much Unchecked Power to Finance Minister Anwar
Ibrahim, legal permission to spend even Billions of ringgit without
cabinet or Parliamentary approval?
Are Ministers FREE to do as they please on their own - with regard policy, actions, spending, etc? OR do they need to get Cabinet approval first?
Remember Article 43(3) Federal Constitution says 'The Cabinet shall be collectively responsible to Parliament.'
So, the NEXT STEP - a law stating how Ministerial decisions are made. Make the need for Cabinet approval to prevent any one Minister doing something wrong intentionally or negligently as Minister, and also persons responsible for companies and/or agencies under the Minister.
CRIMES for MINISTER, and even Cabinet members if they do or fail to do something wrong that causes Malaysia and Malaysians to suffer... A crime that does not require proof that a Minister received monies/benefits for his action or inaction. If an action/inaction CAUSES loss to Malaysia or the Malaysian people because the Minister failed to exercise due care in his work/responsibility, it should be CRIMINALIZED.
BEST that certain decisions which have great impact also will require Parliamentary approval..
Transparency and check and balance by Parliament - Parliamentary Select Committees to continuously monitor Ministers - to prevent something like 1MDB from happening again.
Should Cabinet Minutes be disclosed to the Public after 10 years > People have a right to know how decisions were made in Cabinet. Does Cabinet just approve decisions of the Prime Minister blindly?
Malaysia Doubles Gaza Humanitarian Aid To RM200 Million, Private Companies Urged To Contribute
Speaking at a massive solidarity rally at Dataran Merdeka attended by tens of thousands of Malaysians, PMX called the new funding part of his government’s continued commitment to Palestinians.
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