ROSMAH MUST BE INVESTIGATED: But who in the Cabinet will dare to do it?

KUALA LUMPUR - The issue that arises again in the wake of Attorney- General Abdul Gani Patail confirming that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had two bank accounts at AmBank and the latter’s refusal to give a simple Yes or No answer, is once again hogging the limelight, notes a political analyst.

Also, The Sarawak Report has since released documents showing that monies entered the bank account of Rosmah Mansor, Najib’s wife, between 10 February and 23 April this year. “So far, the documents show RM2 million.”

This has now become a husband-and-wife scandal, said Shahbudin Husin. “For years, it was the KLCC and Putrajaya which were our pride. Now, we have to take ‘pride’ in this scandalous husband and wife pair.”

Najib had two issues and one has been answered by the AG, said the analyst i.e. whether he has or had bank accounts with AmBank private banking services, as alleged by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in a report last Friday; while the other question is whether extraordinarily large sums of monies entered these accounts, as stated by the American newspaper.

“Initially, when the AG said that none of the six frozen bank accounts belong to Najib, his supporters were very happy and were quick to point the fingers of blame at WSJ,” said Shahbudin Husin. “Then, they fell silent, when the AG came back a day later to confirm that Najib did indeed have two accounts with AmBank. They were not frozen because they were closed on 30 August 2013 and 9 March this year.”

Now what remains, he added, was whether extraordinarily large sums of monies entered these accounts as alleged by WSJ. “This is where the Task Force has to do its work and make the findings public.”

Also, he stressed, questions arise: “Why were these accounts closed?” Were these accounts also closed in order to evade making tracing (movement of funds) difficult? Were these accounts closed because the funds were transferred to other accounts, invested, the funds exhausted, or are they being kept in cash somewhere?”

“These questions are among the most interesting ones now that the AG has also confirmed that documents relating to Najib’s closed accounts have been seized.”

Elsewhere, it will be difficult to deny The Sarawak Report as the details are very clear and complete. “Rosmah doesn’t seem to be the ordinary housewife as presented by her aides so far. Where did she get the funds to deposit in her bank account?”

Other questions arise, said the analyst: “Are these old savings or a sign of love from Najib? If the latter, from where did Najib get the monies and how did he secure them? Or, is the source from elsewhere which only Rosmah knows?”

Shahbudin expects Rosmah to issue a public statement in a day or two declaring that she “never took the people’s money, or from Permata the organisation she heads, that the money is not for her personal use, that if she stole money she wouldn’t keep it in the country etc etc.”

The analyst reminded that although the Task Force comprising the AG’s Chambers, police, Bank Negara and the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) reports to Najib the suspect, who is also Prime Minister and Finance Minister, “they are responsible to the people and God” in the matter”.

“It means everything in this case.”

Revisiting the public position that Najib should go on leave while the Task Force carries out its investigation, he pointed out that Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar has been more interested in warning that those who leaked information would be dealt with. “The IGP does not report directly to the Prime Minister but Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi,” said Shahbudin. “Khalid’s attitude on the scandal has people worried.”

“Najib should go on leave since he’s in fact the subject of investigation. The Task Force can’t be reporting to him. It will have no credibility and no legitimacy,” he said. “It’s important that the people have confidence in the whole investigative process and the Task Force.” - FMT