COMMENT Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has brought too much shame to this country because of his entrenched involvement with the 1MDB scandal.

As the prime minister, he is also the finance minister and the chairperson of the advisory board of the troubled investment arm.

Now that the scandal has become known worldwide, Najib has no one to blame but himself for the way things have gone awry with the 1MDB, which I now dub as the "1Monstrous Debt Burden" for that every Malaysian now has to face. Every finger is pointed at his direction for the way how things have developed.

Although the attorney-general Apandi Ali has ‘acquitted’ him, we now have the Swiss attorney-general saying that he has reason to believe there were possible misappropriation of funds in excess of US$4 billion (RM16.6 billion).

The Swiss AG, Michael Lauber is urging the Malaysian authorities to cooperate with their investigation under the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) agreement.

So, the truth for now, it’s not just RM2.6 billion, but a whopping RM16.6 billion! With the current debts that 1MDB is having trouble servicing, we can only shake our heads wondering how much interests are incurred every single day.

Reason for Lauber’s statement

It is unusual for investigating bodies of another nation to issue statements like what was issued by Lauber’s office. According to a report, this was triggered by Apandi’s press conference on Tuesday.

Unless there is reason to be believe there were possible violations of Swiss laws related to bribery, Lauber would not have issued any public statement to a worldwide news agency like Reuters. Even Malaysian authorities are known to be fond of the one-liner response to the press: “We cannot issue any statement at this juncture, so as not to jeopardise our investigation.”

Mind you, Lauber is the AG of Switzerland. He may even be independent of the party involved in the investigation. It appears to me that even someone like Lauber believes there were possible misappropriation of funds in excess of RM16 billion, so there is no reason for ordinary Malaysians to frown at Apandi’s latest disclosure.

Think, if Lauber has reason to believe that he would get the cooperation of the Malaysian authorities, would he even release a public statement of such nature?

At this juncture, we want to know whether Lauber has been facing a brick wall when seeking cooperation from the Malaysian authorities in the course of their investigation.

I can only see two reasons why Lauber issued the press statement to Reuters. First, it was a pre-emptive move to ensure that the Malaysian authorities cooperate with the investigative body from Switzerland.

After all, if Apandi believes that there is no case against Najib, he should provide whatever information that the Swiss authorities ask for, failing of which, would he not be in danger of committing an act of malfeasance or attempting to protect suspected criminals?

Secondly, Lauber may have resorted to this public statement because of the failure of our Malaysian authorities to honour the MLA agreement.

We are told that Apandi had rejected the request by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers to obtain bank statements from foreign banks; instead, we are told that he ordered the MACC to close the case. So, could he or his office have also given a lukewarm response towards Lauber’s office. We deserve to know it from Lauber himself.

Thirdly, Lauber knows that this is a topic of public interest, and as the attorney-general of his country, he has done exactly what is expected of his office - to keep the public informed of any possible misappropriation of public coffers. We wish we could say the same thing about his Malaysian counterpart, Apandi and his Singapore counterpart VK Rajah.

Whatever it is, how long can Malaysia renege on the international community? Malaysia cannot escape the embarrassment, and once the case is taken to court, even Najib cannot escape being subpoenaed as a witness.

As prime minister, he cannot say that he would not bother about the subpoena, nor can he let the case drag on too long before we face international censure. As it is, Malaysia has developed a very bad reputation after the 1MDB scandal hit the news. I am sure that even US President Barack Obama, Najib’s golf partner, would have read the article.

According to the Swiss attorney-general’s office, the investigation is serious involving “possible violations of Swiss laws related to bribery of foreign officials, misconduct in public office, money-laundering and criminal mismanagement at 1MDB.” This line, quoted from a Reuters report, has been read across the world, including by heads of government.

I even receive WhatsApp messages from my cousin living in Australia who asked what is happening to Malaysia. Over lunch this afternoon, three Malay gentlemen were talking about ‘Raja Abdullah’, and when I turned around to add to their conversation, the response was direct: “They think every Malaysian is stupid.”

It has also been used in the Court of Appeal, in the case of former aide to Selangor menteri besar in 2008, Mohd Yahya Mat Sahri, and former international trade and industry minister Rafidah Aziz had also warned that Najib has set a dangerous precedent for Malaysia.

The controversy involving the 1MDB and Najib is affecting the country’s reputation as well as one of the roaring tigers of Asia. Tell me, why should the whole country suffer because of one man?

More damaging reports

The Swiss AG also told the Wall Street Journal that his office is “very concerned”, because they “have found evidence of suspicious money transfers linked to 1MDB going through Swiss financial institutions, and we (the AG’s office) believe that it is very important that it is shared with the Malaysian authorities.”

It is likely that more and more equally damaging reports will emerge as new evidences surface. Of course, as concerned Malaysians, we welcome such reports (although it is bad for the country), because most of us do not have much confidence with our own justice system at this juncture.

There have been too much twisting around and lies being told that, as the truth becomes more evident, the people trying to protect the man caught in the scandal begin to lose their own credibility.

For example, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was also caught issuing a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States over the illegal kingpin Paul Phua’s arrest, recently said that he had met the ‘donor’ on Aug 23, 2015.

We did not know who the donor was at that juncture, but Apandi had finally announced to the world that it was the late King Abdullah. The dead do not speak, but at least the date of his passing away - which was Jan 23, 2015 - tells a lot about the cover-up.

The Saudi government has to immediately issue a clear statement to tell us whether the money had been donated by the late King Abdullah. If they chose to remain silent for now, and when some news break hit the world, and more disclosures are made, even King Abdullah’s name may be dragged through the mire.

Another of Najib’s defenders said that the remaining money would have been well-spent for the benefits of the people, but now, we are told that the money had been returned to King Abdullah immediately after the last general election.

One story after another has been told to the rakyat. At one juncture, we were also told that the money was a token of appreciation towards the Malaysian people for their struggle against the IS. Then we were told that the money was used to fight terrorists in the country. Now, we know that part of the money (which is also substantial) was used with an attempt to win the last general election. What else?

I even questioned whether the performance by South Korean artist Psy of ‘Gangnam Style’ fame was paid for using the funds.

How long can we renege?

As pointed out by Zaid Ibrahim - a former law de facto minister himself - Malaysia runs the risk of becoming a pariah nation , if its authorities refuse to cooperate with the international community.

Soon, the other investigating bodies will appear on our doorstep as well, and when more investigators come out with evidences, you cannot blame any Malaysian for becoming sceptical with Najib and the entire cabinet who is giving him the support.

Tomorrow: As the scandal gets worse, M'sians are worst affected

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.