When a Finance Minister 'CHICKENS OUT' of 1MDB questions, it tells the world Malaysian govt ABETS CORRUPTION

The Second Finance Minister, Dato’ Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah had “chickened out” from answering the scores of pressing questions on the shocking 1MDB-PetroSaudi scandal in Parliament during the winding up speech for the Ministry of Finance last night.

He first referred to the US$700 million embezzlement by Jho Low’s controlled entity, Good Star Limited by claiming that the issue is already being investigated by the Auditor-General and the police. He then said that it is best to wait for the outcome of the investigations.

When pressed by the Member of Parliament for Bayan Baru, Sim Tze Tzin, Dato’ Seri Husni even put up the pretence of holding and flipping the Parliamentary Standing Orders while seeking guidance from the Deputy Speaker as to whether he needs to answer the questions. The Deputy Speaker then granted permission to the Minister to choose not to answer the questions.

Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah

The Second Finance Minister deserved an Oscar because there is no clause in the Standing Order which prohibits a Minister from responding to questions on cases which are being investigated either by the Auditor-General or the Police.

Our speeches in Parliament had sought the confirmation of facts such as to whether 1MDB transferred US$700 million into the Swiss bank account of Good Star Limited and why 1MDB did so. The Minister could definitely have answered these questions of fact without delving into the question of whether any crimes have been committed.

The fact that the sheer scale of the scandal which has attracted international scrutiny received such cursory responses in Parliament showed that the BN government isn’t at all serious about corruption, embezzlement and abuse of power. The refusal by the Minister to answer these crucial questions proved beyond doubt that the Government is attempting to cover up the scandal and postpone the fallout.

Instead, the Cabinet abdicated the matter to the special audit by the Auditor-General which may take months to complete. In that time the Najib administration would hope that the scandal will quietly fade into the background or the crooks behind the multi-billion ringgit scandal will be able to deftly cover their tracks.

Tony Pua is MP for PJ Utara