MP SPEAKS Those who are calculating that if Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and I could be jailed, DAP will disintegrate cannot be more wrong or mistaken.

DAP is not just about one or two persons but represents the Malaysian Dream of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, or region for a united, clean, incorrupt, democratic, just, inclusive, competitive, and prosperous plural Malaysia, where all Malaysians can hold their heads high and feel proud as Malaysian citizens because of our world-class achievements and accomplishments in every field of human endeavour.

In the past few years, Malaysians have fallen sharply in international esteem and respect, to the extent that Malaysia is getting to be synonymous with corruption and mega financial scandals in the world - thanks to the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's infamous RM55 billion 1MDB and RM2.6 billion twin mega scandals.

It is just outrageous that after years of the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal, and almost nine months after the RM2.6 billion “donation” scandal since the revelation first surfaced in Wall Street Journal in early July last year, Malaysians are none the wiser about both scandals as Najib and his government have been stone-walling and refused to come full and clean about both scandals.

Even in the current meeting of Parliament, the government has refused to answer questions or to speeches of Members of Parliament about both mega scandals, on the grounds that it is sub judice as there are cases concerning them in court.

This has led to the Speaker, Pandikar Amin Mulia, reprimanding Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman, for usurping the Speaker's powers by claiming that the RM 2.6 billion donation cannot be discussed in Parliament.

This is a serious violation of parliamentary privilege by Azalina (photo) not for one day, but for a whole week.

Why has she not been referred to the Committee of Privileges for such grave violation of parliamentary privilege, and ordered to answer all parliamentary questions which she had rejected on the ground of sub judice arising from the Bar Council’s suit against attorney-general Mohamad Apandi Ali?

In the course of the past nine months, different versions had been given by Umno leaders about the nature of the RM2.6 billion donation deposited into Najib’s personal accounts.

On August 11, Tourism Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the donation was from a “brotherly nation” which wanted to see certain parties win the 13th general election because they were friendly to them.

Four days later, Umno Kuantan division chief Wan Adnan Wan Mamat said the RM2.6 billion was from Saudi Arabia as a form of appreciation of Malaysia “championing Islam” and fighting militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis).

But on Aug 22, Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said the donation came from their “Muslim friends in the Middle East” to help Umno fight DAP in the 14th general elections, as the party was funded by Jews.

Later that same day, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he met the donors’ representatives who informed him that the funds was in appreciation for the government’s efforts in countering terrorism, and to help Barisan Nasional (BN) maintain Malaysia’s status as a Sunni country.

After Apandi's (photo) no-further-action decision on Najib at the end of January, the BBC reported an unnamed Saudi source as saying that the money was donated to help the prime minister win GE13 and counter potential Muslim Brotherhood influence in Malaysia as the Saudis consider the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation, and Malaysia’s opposition alliance at that time included PAS, “whose founders were inspired by the Brotherhood”.

Now, we are told that the “donations” deposited into Najib's personal banking accounts exceeded US$1 billion or more than RM4.2 billion, and not just RM2.6 billion.

How could the raising of questions whether during question time or in debates on the veracity or otherwise of these claims, whether the total deposits in Najib's personal banking accounts was RM2.6 billion or RM4.2 billion; where the monies came from and where they have gone to; what evidence was available that Najib had returned RM2.03 billion to donors in August 2013, be prejudicial to the suit filed by the Bar against Apandi?

Azalina and ministers must be reminded that the sub judice rule is to protect the courts from parliamentary interference and not to provide ministers with a convenient device to avoid or escape parliamentary scrutiny and accountability in accordance with the principles of good governance and parliamentary democracy; or in this particular case, to enable the Najib government to sweep Najib's twin mega scandals under the carpet!

Najib's twin mega scandals have caused a tectonic shift in Malaysian politics and led to the historic and unprecedented gathering of 42 political and civil society leaders in Kuala Lumpur on March 4, 2016, bridging the political divide to sign and proclaim the Citizens' Declaration to Save Malaysia - involving former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, and former cabinet ministers.

It is to deflect public attention to these two momentous political events - Najib's twin mega scandals and the Save Malaysia Citizens' Declaration - as well as to affect the outcome of the impending Sarawak state election, that DAP leaders have now come under intense and systematic attack, with DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng accused of corruption, like former Selangor Mentri Besar Khir Toyo, while over a hundred police reports have been lodged against me under the Sedition Act.

Is Guan Eng guilty of corruption like Khir Toyo?

The following Bernama report on June 13, 2011, entitled 'No choice but to sell property to Khir Toyo at RM3.5 Million, says Ditamas director', clearly shows that the Lim Guan Eng case is completely different from the Khir Toyo matter.

The Bernama report reads:

"A company director told the High Court here Monday that he had to sell two plots of land and a bungalow (photo) here at a price of RM3.5 million to former Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo in 2007 for fear of jeopardising his housing projects in Selangor.

“Ditamas Sdn Bhd (Ditamas) director Shamsuddin Hayroni said he had to do so after taking into considerations his position as a businessman in Selangor and Mohamad Khir's position as the then menteri besar.

"'Mohamad Khir and I had discussed the price in 2004 and he wanted the property to be sold at RM3.5 million. I personally did not agree because it was too low and I told him that it should be at least between RM5 million to RM5.5 million.

"'When I bought the property, it was priced at RM5 million and with renovation cost of RM1.5 million, the price should be RM6.5 million. I gave him a little discount and set the price at RM5.5 million, but Mohamad Khir did not agree with the price, saying that he could only afford RM3.5 million,' he said when questioned by deputy public prosecutor, Abdul Wahab Mohamed.

"Shamsuddin was testifying on the fourth day of the trial of the former menteri besar who is accused of acquiring for himself and his wife, Datin Seri Zahrah Kechik, 45, two plots of land and a bungalow at No. 8 & 10, Jalan Suasa 7/1L, Shah Alam from Ditamas through Shamsuddin.

"Mohamad Khir is said to have paid RM3.5 million for the property in Section 7 here, which Ditamas had bought on Dec 23, 2004 for RM6.5 million.”

The intense and systematic attacks on the DAP have affected public attention on Najib's twin mega scandals and the Save Malaysia's Citizens' Declaration, but the Umno/BN strategists and cybertroopers will be mistaken if they think that the momentum to demand accountability for Najib's twin mega scandals and the national movement to Save Malaysia can be stalled by focussing attack on DAP leaders or by sending Guan Eng and me to jail.

LIM KIT SIANG is the MP for Gelang Patah and DAP parliamentary leader.