COMMENT | One-and-a-half years have elapsed since the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on the 1MDB scandal was submitted to the cabinet.

Yet, this report has only been kept sealed under the Official Secrets Act 1972 (OSA) and none of the people involved have been charged in court.

I find this quite disturbing myself, especially since other countries have already charged their citizens for the role they played in this mother of scandals involving senior bank and government officers.

In an interview with BBC a year ago, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan told the whole world that the "Malaysian Official 1" mentioned in the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filings is none other than Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

There is no secret about this, and yet we are still seeing a play of musical chairs between the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

‘Crisis of confidence’

This despite the call made by the Conference of Rulers in October 2015 in which all nine state rulers and the other four governors urged that the “findings of the investigation must be reported comprehensively and in a transparent manner so that the people will be convinced of the sincerity of the government which shall not at all concern facts and the truth.”

As pointed out in the statement, this has resulted in a “crisis of confidence” in the people towards the government of the day. Perhaps, it is also time for the Conference of Rulers to issue another public statement on this matter urging the government to be more open about the scandal.

The whole world appears to know what is happening but not ordinary Malaysians. We are left guessing which is chicken and which is egg. At the very least, the PAC report should be released for public viewing. Otherwise, people will continue to speculate over every hint of corruption and abuse.

This is why no matter how much Najib tries to convince the people that his recent visit to the White House has yielded some goodies, if any, for Malaysia, people are just not convinced.

Ferris wheel

I find that we are being taken on a merry-go-round or, perhaps more appropriately, a Ferris wheel. Each time a public statement is made, it is either a “new high” that makes the public anticipate that the 1MDB truths will be revealed, or their expectations are simply not met.

Therefore, when the new inspector-general of police, Mohamad Fuzi said that the police have concluded their investigations into the scandal and that there are no new developments, I find it hard to swallow.

Were we all not hopeful that since the Conference of Rulers first made a public statement on this scandal that something would be forthcoming? After all, it was the first time that the Conference of Rulers had sounded out regarding the scandal.

And if investigations by the police have been completed, what is the outcome? Why is no one being prosecuted? Where are these culprits today? If they are on the wanted list, why are we not being told about it and why are they not put on Interpol’s wanted list?

Who is now holding the ball and in whose court is the ball? Have the police and the MACC been professional in carrying out its investigation? I believe if they have, and there is no reason not to believe that, then the ball is in the AGC’s court. Or, is it not?

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib’s name in January 2016, claiming that the money that was paid into Najib’s account was a gift from the royal family in Saudi Arabia.

Surely RM2.6 billion (or US$681 million) is no small sum of money. With that amount of money going into an individual’s personal accounts, surely as Malaysians, we too want to know which Saudi royal family can afford to give away such a huge amount of money to the head of state of another country.

On what grounds is the money given? How is part of the money being used? Is it for the benefit of the people, and if it is, what are the projects undertaken that have benefited the people?

Evidence from the DOJ’s suit, however, alleged that based on the money trail unearthed by the US investigation team, the money had originated from 1MDB through a series of transfers.

In fact, I recall Sarawak Report highlighting the chart produced by the special task force shown by Apandi that suggests the same.

Why are our authorities not forthcoming when it comes to these allegations? Why did we become like lame ducks when the DOJ first brought up the civil suit?

It affects the reputation of the prime minister himself especially after Rahman Dahlan’s public confession about MO1, and it also destroys the good name of the country which five other prime ministers have taken so much effort to build.

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

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.