Reputable members of the public should be members of the special task force investigating the claim that US$700 million was deposited into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s personal bank accounts.

In fact, former Sabah state secretary Simon Sipaun gave his support for an independent royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to be established, consisting of members from both sides of the political fence.

“It should consist of people who are very knowledgeable, from the opposition, the NGOs and the government,” Simon told Malaysiakini .

“I somewhat agree with (DAP parliamentary leader) Lim Kit Siang, maybe former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad could chair this RCI.”

He also said that former Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan ( photo ) and DAP parliamentarian Tony Pua should be included in the RCI.

“(The RCI should consist of) those who have a track record in anti-corruption work. (They) must be independent and they must not be civil servants," he said.

Simon said this when asked to comment on the current task force, which consists of Bank Negara Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar, and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed, and he went on to point out that they were all government officers.

“The AG, the MACC chief and the IGP are all civil servants. Zeti is the governor of Bank Negara, but she’s very much like a civil servant, since she works for a government bank.

“Being civil servants, what do you expect them to do (when) they operate under the principle of ‘I am your obedient servant’?” Simon said.

Commenting on Gani, who yesterday called for an investigation to find out who leaked documents to The Wall Street Journal on the ongoing investigation, he pointed out how the task force seemed more concerned about identifying the person who leaked the documents.

Simon, a former vice-chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), also has his own reservations on the effectiveness of the task force investigating the 1MDB fiasco.

'The real truth behind all this is important'

“I have my own reservations on the effectiveness of the group in finding out the real truth behind this 1MDB fiasco.

“To me, what is important is what the real truth behind all this is,” he said, pointing out that the prime minister has yet to deny, nor admit, whether he has personal accounts with AmBank.

“He said he has not used 1MDB funds for his personal use, so what does that indicate? Then, what did he use it for?” asked Simon.

And there is definitely a conflict of interest on the part of the members of the task force, he added.

“The AG  is the government lawyer. He is supposed to protect the government and he is the chief prosecutor.

“He has the final say on who is to be prosecuted in a matter, and even if there is evidence that a person should be prosecuted, the AG can always rule that there is not enough evidence.

“Who is going to challenge him on that? The AG can just make a decision based on his own interpretation of a situation,” Simon ( photo ) said.

Doubting that anything would come out from the investigations, he said although he respected the qualifications and experiences of the four in the special task force, it would be difficult for them to be seen as independent, even if they wanted to.

“I was a civil servant for 32 years. I know the relationship between political masters and civil servants,” he quipped.

Meanwhile, Social Care Foundation chairperson Robert Phang said if there was a desire to establish the truth, the task force should consist of those with “renowned integrity”.

Phang proposed that former attorney-general Abu Talib Othman, lawyer Sankara Nair, Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (Acccim) president Lim Kok Cheong and former managing partner of KPMG Malaysia Mohamed Raslan Abdul Rahman to be part of the task force.

To whom are task force members responsible?

“Who are the current members of the task force appointed by? To whom are they responsible to report the findings to?

“If the findings are directed to the prime minister’s office, then don’t waste time. Because people will ask, ‘what’s the point of reporting back to the person who is being investigated’?" he said.

Stressing that things should be set right, Phang cautioned that otherwise, the whole country would be affected.

However, Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) director Ramon Navaratnam sang a different tune from the two.

Ramon said the current members of the task force should be given the “benefit of the doubt”.

“If we are untrusting of everybody, nothing will move. Give the task force a chance. They are made up of very distinguished individuals.

“If it is found that their findings are fair and reasonable, so be it. But if there’s doubt as to the conclusions they reach, then the people have to decide whether they should be praised or condemned,” he said.

Pointing out that ultimately, it was the jury (the public) that counted, Ramon ( photo ) said there was no point to stymie or inhibit any of the foursome.

“Let them do the work and let us judge them for their output and outcome. In the end, the people’s judgment will prevail,” he said.

Asked whether there was any conflict of interest on the part of the task force members since they were government officers, Ramon believes it would not be so if they are “people of principles”.

“If they follow their religious values and good governance… Because they are accountable if not to man then certainly to God,” he said.

Nevertheless, Ramon, who is also corporate adviser to the Sunway Group of companies, cautioned the task force members to be “absolutely honest”.

“Because the people will go for them if they make conclusions based on the wrong facts and assumptions.

“The majority can’t be wrong. Only a mad man will say everybody is wrong except  for himself,” he said.

The task force has since frozen six bank accounts related to the investigations.

Yesterday, Gani expressed concern over insinuations and allegations that have been made, linking him to a certain political agenda.

Gani stressed that the whole purpose of establishing the inter-agency special task force to investigate the matter was to ensure that there could be no abuse of the investigation mechanism.