Malaysians witnessed with disbelief how the Najib administration swiftly curtailed internal dissent, perceived sabotage and attempts to tear holes in his tattered government, following the 1MDB scandal that has rocked the country for months.
Malaysians witnessed with disbelief how the Najib administration swiftly curtailed internal dissent, perceived sabotage and attempts to tear holes in his tattered government, following the 1MDB scandal that has rocked the country for months.
From the shock termination of Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, to the hurried cabinet reshuffle, which saw former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Minister and UMNO vice president Shafee Apdal dropped, we witnessed just how much power was concentrated in the Prime Minister’s office, having succeeded in shifting around key leaders of his administration – like a simple game of chess. It didn’t end there.
Effectively stonewalling the ongoing investigations into the 1MDB scandal, by moving four members from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to executive positions, appointing a party man as the new Attorney General, sending the top brass of the MACC on forced leave and arresting law enforcers instead of allowing the investigations to proceed uninterrupted, Malaysians watched with horror how confusion and fear were being laid bare, in a desperate bid to bury the 1MDB scandal
The Centre to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4) expresses deep concern over these events, and are indeed outraged at the sudden death of the special taskforce formed to probe the RM 2.6 billion, SRC International and related issues. Prime Minister, Najib must be held to account for these developments and convince Malaysians that he has not abused his position by allowing the heavy hand of the executive to thwart the ongoing investigations.
C4 regrets the ongoing police harassment on the MACC, and calls for the arrests and raids to stop immediately, as MACC is now left with the monumental task to seek and arrive at the truth.
Hands off the MACC, we say, as the actions of the police have serious repercussions on obstruction of duties that could hamper important investigations from progressing further.
Instead of moving to win public confidence, the new cabinet had gone on to further issue threat after threat, on whistleblowers, media and critical voices; arresting taskforce members and law enforcement officials involved in the probe for allegedly leaking information is but a deviation to the core issues.
C4 stands by the MACC during these dark times in our country’s history and hold faith that the commission will be steadfast and resilient in their mission.
We owe this to our nation, and to our future generations.
The time is now, for MACC to prove its mettle – let us give strength to our public institutions to save Malaysia
Released By
Cynthia Gabriel
Founding Director
Centre to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4)
