Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's recent explanations on the RM2.6 billion donation scandal and operations of state investment arm 1MDB have raised further questions on the issues, says DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang.
Top of the list, Lim said, was the reason why Najib had only dared to answer in a "tame and orchestrated" interviews and at closed-door Umno meetings but not in Parliament in the presence of Opposition MPs and critics.
"Why did Najib run away from Parliament on the last day of the parliamentary budget meeting, last Thursday, after fobbing off some 90 questions from Pakatan Harapan MPs in the 25-day parliamentary session?" Lim asked in a speech at Rifle Range in Penang last night.
He also questioned the statement by minister in charge of parliamentary affairs Azalina Othman that attorney-general Apandi Ali had advised Najib against discussing the issues in Parliament due to concerns over sub judice.
"If so, why did Najib disregard the attorney-general’s advice in his interview with the Umno media and at closed-door Umno meetings?," he questioned further, adding that Apandi himself has yet to confirm whether he had advised Najib or not.
Apandi's 'poor grasp of the law'
Lim claimed that Apandi, if he admitted to having advised Najib against possible sub judice, "is not fit to be the chief legal officer of the land for his poor grasp of the law".
"This is because the question of 'sub judice' does not arise at all, as there is no court proceeding on the RM2.6 billion 'donation' scandal to bring about a 'sub judice' situation, but only ongoing investigations into the issue," he said.
Lim went on to challenge Apandi to state his stand on whether Najib had gone against his (Apandi’s) advice by granting exclusive interviews on the RM2.6 billion and 1MDB issues to the Umno-backed media.
Following the interviews, during which Najib rebutted criticisms from Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Najib also spoke on the two issues during his presidential briefing to Umno leaders and delegates at the opening of the party’s general assembly at the PWTC last night.
Among others, Umno supreme council member Abdul Rahman Dahlan said Najib addressed the two issues, besides once again rebutting Mahathir's contention that Malaysians would risk becoming beggars if Najib stayed on in his position.
"He (Najib) straightaway entered fifth gear from the first minute he spoke. No rhetoric at all. This showed that he wants the issues resolved as soon as possible," Rahman told the press after the briefing concluded.
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