COMMENT It is nice, after a weekend away in Hanoi, to read the prime minister’s response to DAP parliamentarian Teresa Kok that 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) debts are not part of the federal debts.

With that answer, all our worries about future generations of Malaysians having to pay the debts can be put to rest. We can now dismiss it as just the fabrication of the opposition. Well done, Mr Prime Minister. I like your reply. It has the same elements of the recent budget speech which brought a lot of excitement to a handful of people.

Reality should wake us up

However, as an ordinary person looking at the 1MDB scandal, I have many questions to ask Najib Abdul Razak, which I hope silence from him would no longer be "golden" any more. He should answer all the questions that have been posed to him, instead of getting others to speak on his behalf.

Running away from reality will not solve the problems that we are now facing as a nation. Najib, I hope you will be bold enough to speak the truth, as you perceive it. For example, if you believe that the country will not have to fork out money to pay back the creditors on behalf of 1MDB, a subsidiary wholly owned by the Finance Ministry, you should state so.

Some of these questions have also been raised by former second finance minister, Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah. He was trying to work within the system, to help resolve one of the worst financial black holes this country has seen, but he too is frustrated.

It is not only the opposition or former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who are asking these questions, but a member of the ruling party himself has raised these questions that I believe as the man behind the creation of 1MDB and prime minister of this nation, you had better answer Ahmad Husni. There are no two ways about it.

Yet, what was asked in Parliament has also become a case under police investigation, and after listening to Ahmad Husni’s speech in Parliament yesterday evening, I do not see any reason for the police to investigate him.

He was merely carrying out his duty as an elected representative of the people, and if even he cannot ask questions in the August House, who else can? Najib, this is a parliamentary democracy, not a police state. In my opinion, it is better for you to bow out, than to see the country burn with the debts that 1MDB has created.

And, now with a new listing of Edra, I am wondering how many people’s money would be burnt. Please do not drag this further. Malaysians can be fooled once, but they would not trust the government of the day, if things continue the way it is perceived today.

More questions have to be raised

If Ahmad Husni’s questions cannot be asked, it clearly shows that the government has something to hide. My question is, therefore, is the government working in cahoots with 1MDB in causing billions of ringgit to disappear into a black hole?

My apologies if I have to be so blatant, but to know the truth, I have to ask a straight question, instead of beating around the bush.

I am merely asking this as a concerned citizen of this nation, who wants to know what happened to the money that was paid to two bogus companies registered in the British Virgin Islands? Not forgetting as well that RM4 billion came from the pension funds for civil servants.

Would any bank lend you money if there is no assurance of returns, collateral or some guarantors? According to news reports, the Public Accounts Committee has identified that “the federal government had committed RM5.8 billion in government-guaranteed loans, RM13.56 billion through letters of support and RM950 million in standby credit”. Are you now denying this, Mr Prime Minister?

Although international investigators have managed to uncover the money trail, their Malaysian counterparts are not only silent about it, but denying there was any wrongdoing by 1MDB. Why is that so, Najib? If the company belongs to Uncle Tom next door, I would not even be bothered, but 1MDB is a 100 percent owned subsidiary of the Finance Ministry.

It will affect my children, and yours, too. They will curse us for not doing anything about the way that money was allegedly siphoned out of the country without fear of reprisal.

How is it that these officials at 1MDB were never investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) or even the police in the same manner that some civil servants have been investigated and treated?

Since part of the money that was transferred into your personal accounts were returned to the generous Arab donor, and we now know the origin of the money, can the entire sum of the money be used to pay off the debts of 1MDB?

1MDB is the 'maruah warganegara' Malaysia

After all, 1MDB involves not only the maruah orang Melayu (dignity of the Malays), and but, it has also put us in great shame whenever we talk about it as fellow Malaysians, which includes the bigger majority of us who are Dayaks, Kadazan-Dusun, Chinese and Indians.

You call it a split, but I call them Malays who are now awakened and enlightened, especially people like Zunar, Mariam Mokhtar, Ahmad Husni, Hishamuddin Rais, Nor Farida Ariffin, Rafizi Ramli, Abdul Yunus Jamhari, and without forgetting even people like Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin Yassin and Shafie Apdal.

They represent the Malays from a wide spectrum of professional backgrounds, except the owner of Sekinchan Ikan Bakar and his Sekin Hotel and Resort in Sekinchan.

People like Sungai Besar Umno division chief Jamal Mohd Yunos cannot even give a sensible answer to our questions, including those raised by a more senior Umno parliamentarian than himself, so how can he champion race and religion? Or, how can he represent me who want to uphold justice in this country?

For any trouble that he creates, Najib, we hold you fully responsible. If he can get away with threats of bloodbath, the blood would be upon your head - if it happens.

One last question

How is it possible that billions of dollars have gone missing, yet the prime minister and the head of the advisory head of 1MDB did nothing to track down the culprits and charge them? How can we still boast about an iota of transparency and good governance in your administration?

If we can close one eye to this case involving allegedly billions of dollars, how can we talk about the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and Government Transformation Programme (GTP)? How can we talk about regulating political funding, if there is no control over the amount that can be spent on a general election?

It is no different to the man who was a mayor in the daytime, but a thief at night, who implemented his new law in his township based on what he claimed to be one of God’s 10 commandments: “Thou shalt not steal”.

The punishment for stealing, he emphasised to his citizens, would be very severe if they were caught stealing an eraser or a sharpener from the City Hall’s office. This, he added, was to ensure that there was no longer any pilferage in the City Hall.

This, of course, brought a lot of excitement to his own supporters, but if one of his dissenters raised a question about the mayor who took a donation from money that originated from the council’s funds, the mayor’s men, like the crabs in a basket, would find ways to bring him down. In short, silence him.

Therefore, Mr Prime Minister, I am sure you are not like that mayor. If a former minister like Husni who has a Key Performance Index (KPI) exceeding 100 percent has already asked all the right questions in parliament, how can we even trust that you will bring about reform in the country, if you cannot respond to his questions yourself?

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