YOURSAY | ‘He must reveal the full listing of the ‘gifts’ to ensure they are not among the items seized by the authorities.’

Najib defends spending RM3.36m on Swiss jewellery

Vijay47: How the worm has turned, coming full circle from a year ago when he was a bumbling oaf, tripping over his feet, struggling to find words in his desperation to justify the sources of his fabulous wealth.

Today, yesterday’s panic has been relegated to a forgotten past. He is now the suave protagonist in Armani from a James Bond movie, as he nonchalantly explains that spending RM3.36 million is nothing to raise the eyebrows at, it is just another day at the office.

No longer shaken nor stirred by recent international spectres, he even has the luxury of playing the patriot in his frugality to save national funds.

Gifts for the royalty and entourage of a country he coyly declines to identify, are paid for, not from the state treasury as permitted, but from his personal vaults so that another mouth can be fed, another body clothed.

So highly is his camaraderie valued and his bonhomie revered that adoring foreign royalty accompany him to quiet holidays in Italy. Mama mia, che bello!

Yet he is not at fault. We cannot blame him if he was born with a gold finger, and supplicants come even from Kazakhstan with love. After all, diamonds are forever, especially when Octopussy has a licence to kill.

Anonymous 1689721435778173: "Usually the government will bear the costs of the gift … but this time, I paid with my own credit card," said Najib.

Two questions: When other heads of state present you with gifts, you get to keep them? You paid for gifts with your own credit card, but where did the money come from?

Beman: The credit cards may be his, but where did he get RM3.36 million to pay for jewellery?

What's the salary of a PM? Say RM336,000 per year (i.e. close to RM30,000 per month). He would have to save all his salary for 10 years (no money for food and clothing or anything else) just to buy the gifts for the so-called royalty.

Wouldn't this trigger the alarm for action by MACC?

The Wakandan: It is not about spending or about purchasing gifts for your friends, whoever they may be. It is about the money in your bank account which allegedly came from a dubious source.

Vgeorgemy: If it is true the credit card spending was for a foreign dignitary, the accused must reveal the full listing of the gifts to ensure the so-called “gifts” are not among the items seized by the authorities.

Middle Path: Yes, Najib, we do want to believe you.

It was a donation and you returned most of it. You were angry that RM42 million ended up in your bank account, but you did not bother to inform anyone or inquire about it. Why didn't you report to the authorities?

You went on a spending spree, buying presents for foreign dignitaries, for the sake of the nation. So noble of you.

You stated that the shopping spree was the biggest amount you have ever done in one day, so you do keep track of your accounts and amount spent, unlike the impression your defence is trying to paint of you being unaware of inflows and outflows of your bank accounts.

Najib claims 'vindicated' by PAC report

Ipohcrite: Let me make it simple. It started when there just wasn't enough money in the Consolidated Account (CA) to pay the government's financial obligations.

So, to cover the hole in the CA's coffers, GST refunds in the GST Trust was illegally taken out (misappropriated or robbed, whichever description you like) and put into the CA, and used to pay the government's financial obligations.

Meanwhile, GST refund recipients had to wait for up to two years, while the government collected more GST, before the GST refunds can be slowly made.

Concurrently, the government continues to derive other types of revenue that go into the CA. Hence it is claimed that all the funds are still there in the CA.

To put it simply, you robbed Peter to pay Paul. Just that this sort of thievery is a little bit more sophisticated, and even the PAC chief can be sold on the very idea that nothing is lost.

Ajyls: Najib, let's put it this way in simple layman's terms.

A father (you as the finance minister and prime minister) is supposed to set aside part of his income (GST collected by the government) for his children's education, food and well-being (companies and citizens who are entitled to GST refunds).

However, he decided to use that income for other purposes, while neglecting the children.

How can that father be considered responsible? In the eyes of the children, the money that they were supposed to receive was missing and/or misused.

Hang Babeuf: If that is what vindication looks like, then there is no such thing as wrongdoing or getting caught out.

It is an open-and-shut matter.

The fact that I did not spend the family allowance on lollies for myself does not mean I was entitled to hide that money away in a jar somewhere for my own selfish use some time later - or to use it for some purpose other than that for which it was intended.

A bit thick of him, that Najib cannot see and does not get this simple point.

KingKriolle: Najib, the report also said your administration breached the GST Act 2014. So how can you claim you are vindicated?

Like 1MDB and the SRC scandals, you took the rakyat's money to do as you pleased. You are dishonest, corrupt, unethical and shameless. You are surely by far the worst PM this country ever had.

Stop making silly statements and save your breath for your court cases.

Newday: Just once can you stop bending the truth to suit your own ends? Probably impossible as you are now well caught up in the huge spider's web (of your making) of half-baked truth, story-telling, selective memory, and fake news.

What is reality for you? It is not a reality that I am familiar with. Your spin-masters are doing a great job of developing your alternate reality.

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