DAP Youth has thrown its weight behind the forthcoming #TangkapMO1 rally, organised by a coalition of student groups to press the authorities to arrest and charge the person referred to as ‘Malaysian Official 1', in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) asset forfeiture filling.

“DAP Youth will mobilise all its divisions and members to attend the Aug 27 #TangkapMO1 rally in the capital city, to gather peacefully and call for MO1 and anyone else involved in the 1MDB scandal to be brought to justice,” national DAP Youth chief Wong Kah Woh said in a statement yesterday.

Wong said that after two weeks of the DOJ revelations of monies allegedly stolen from sovereign fund 1MDB, no action has been taken by local authorities against those linked to the purported crime, including the ‘Malaysian Official 1' mentioned 36 times in the DOJ filing.

“DAP Youth would like to stress that there has been no denial from the BN-led government on the veracity of the DOJ filing and no denial that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is not MO1,” he said.

Wong (photo) rued that the more than one billion US dollars supposedly stolen from 1MDB could have been used to pay for the scholarships of 12,000 Civil Services Department (JPA) scholars for 16 years, instead of just benefiting several individuals only.

Unlike Umno Youth, which is willing to be called “macai” in defence of Najib, he said DAP Youth is committed to the pursuit of truth in the 1MDB scandal for the future of all Malaysian youths.

Praise for organisers of rally

The DAP Youth chief praised the youth and student groups for organising the #TangkapMO1 rally, which he said proved that the youths of today would no longer stay silent over the scandals that have hit the nation.

“This dedication should be the driving force for all parties to demand for the truth in the 1MDB scandal,” Wong said.

On Aug 1, a coalition of youth and student groups announced their efforts to mobilise a #TangkapMO1 campaign in Kuala Lumpur.

At a press conference, the groups referred to the individual identified as ‘Malaysian Official 1' in the DOJ civil suit to recover billions of assets linked to state investment fund 1MDB.

The DOJ filed the civil lawsuits on July 20, seeking to confiscate assets it said were bought by certain individuals using monies stolen from 1MDB.

While Najib, who was the fund’s advisory board chairperson, and whose approval was required for all company decisions, was not named, his stepson, movie producer Riza Aziz, and financier Jho Low, were named in the report as being involved with the monies embezzled out of 1MDB.

There were were also various mentions of a ‘Malaysian Official 1', said to be a high-ranking Malaysian official and related to Riza, who held a position of influence in 1MDB.

Najib has denied any wrongdoing and complicity in the 1MDB scandal, which is being investigated by authorities in several foreign jurisdictions.