The MACC statement on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s personal bank accounts did not answer any of the key questions of the 1MDB issue, PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli said.

Instead it raises more questions such as whether the RM2.6 billion in ‘donations’ amounted to graft as defined under the MACC Act 2009.

“No sane Malaysian can accept the explanation that Najib received a donation of RM2.6 billion from someone to fund BN’s 13th general election campaign without the donor expecting anything in return.

“Therefore, the donations being talked about by the Umno leadership can be classified as gratification under Section 3 of the MACC Act,” he said in a statement today.

He added the PKR leadership had instructed its grassroots leaders nationwide to lodge reports with MACC and pressure the commission to investigate the political funding.

A sample police report has already been issued to the party's grassroots leaders for this purpose, he said.

Section 3 of the MACC Act defines the terms used in the rest of the Act.

It defines gratification as, among others, 'money, donation, gift, loan, fee, reward, valuable security, property or interest in property being property of any description whether movable or immovable, financial benefit or any other similar advantage'.

When contacted for clarification about his press statement, Rafizi said that under Section 50 of the MACC Act, the onus is on the accused to prove that a gratification received was not for corrupt purposes.

“The MACC’s obligation is to prove that the money has come in. You (the accused) have to prove that you received that money, but there was no ulterior motive or no pecuniary benefits to your side.

“Otherwise, it is assumed to be a corrupt practice under this Act,” he told Malaysiakini.

An offence under this Act carries a penalty of imprisonment of up to 20 years, plus a fine of up to five times the value of the gratification.

'Probe all 1MDB deals'

Yesterday, the MACC issued a statement saying that the RM2.6 billion transferred into Najib’s personal bank accounts came from donors and not from state-owned 1MDB.

Its investigation papers on that transaction have been submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

However, another series of transactions that was alleged to have started from former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International and led to RM42 million being transferred into Najib’s bank account is still being investigated by the MACC.

The transactions were previously highlighted by The Wall Street Journal as allegedly being 1MDB funds

Following the MACC statement, Rafizi said the authorities must investigate all of 1MDB’s deals to ensure that there was no element of abuse or breach of trust.

“This includes the accusations brought forward prior to this including the accusation that 1MDB funds had been transferred to people close to Najib such as Jho Low, as well as 1MDB’s failure to fulfil its financial commitments to repay its debt exceeding RM42 billion.

“The transaction of RM2.6 billion into Najib’s account was only a small task that coincidentally got the people’s attention when The Wall Street Journal exposed that there had been funds transferred into the prime minister’s personal account.

“Therefore, the MACC’s statement yesterday did not answer the key questions at all, which needs to be investigated by the special task force that is accountable to the people to unravel all the questions about 1MDB,” he said.

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