Exclusive interview with the author of 'Murdered in Malaysia: The Altantuya Story'

Author  & blogger E.S. Shankar in his study

When did the idea of writing Murdered in Malaysia: The Altantuya Story first occur to you? How long did the process take till completion?

The idea was planted in my head by my cousin in June 2014. Like me, he was outraged that here was an open-and-shut case of a massive cover-up being so obviously orchestrated by the State, and no one was doing anything to expose it. People with no motive whatsoever were being convicted of murder. The entire machinery of justice – the police, AG, prosecutors, defence lawyers and the Judiciary – had been subverted and hopelessly undermined and compromised by Najib and his wife Rosmah, and yet the citizens seemed powerless to stop this travesty of justice.

I shot off the opening chapter the day following that conversation with my cousin. The outline of that chapter is pretty much as you see it now, relying on my memory, as I had been writing about the Altantuya murder at my blog for several years.

I completed the book in March 2015. I could have completed it earlier, but between October and December 2014, I had writer’s block and also got stuck on how to retrieve voluminous high court trial transcripts.

Were you able to gather any data directly from individuals linked to the drama or did you have to rely entirely on internet research?

No, I conducted no interviews, as I did not wish to alert anyone about this dangerous project, especially government authorities. Most of the material was gathered from internet research and blogs.

You mentioned at the start of the book that there were rumors of Altantuya Shaariibuu being a foreign agent, part of a honeytrap sting operation. Did you come across any further evidence that this may have been the case? Or do you believe she was merely misguided in the kind of company she kept?

The source of this possible foreign agent suspicion is from a certain Gopal Raj’s blog. Full details of this blog post is in Appendix 22 of MIM.

Altantuya Shaariibuu at a party

My gut feeling tells me that Altantuya meeting Abdul Razak Baginda was no coincidence or chance encounter. Given what had transpired with DCNS and the submarines scandals and murders in Taiwan and Pakistan, there is a strong possibility that someone in France recruited Altantuya with the intention of seducing Abdul Razak Baginda. After all, Abdul Razak Baginda was never a philandering husband or playboy before, did not have cash to burn and does not exactly have Hollywood or Bollywood looks, does he?

French investigators also found documents which incriminate Abdul Razak Baginda with leaking official secrets concerning the Navy’s procurement specifications and plans for which he was paid RM142 million.

So, it is not beyond the pale that DCNS once again recruited a femme fatale, this time Altantuya, to compromise Abdul Razak Baginda, as they did with Lily Liu in the Taiwan scandal.

The complication arises from PI Bala’s Statutory Declaration, where he claims Najib introduced Altantuya to Baginda. So, was Najib compromised in some way by the French as well? Scary thought, but interesting, isn’t it?

Did you have the opportunity to speak with P.I. Balasubramaniam before his suspiciously timed fatal heart attack a week before he was scheduled to go on the road with the Altantuya saga? If so, what did you learn from this personal contact?

No, I never met or spoken to PI Bala or his wife.

But, having read all the newspaper and online news portal articles, blogs and watched every single connected YouTube video, my honest opinion is that there was nothing suspicious about PI Bala’s heart attack and subsequent death.

Conspiracy theorists may beg to differ, but during that period he was constantly in the company of friends and family. The people linked to Altantuya’s murder may be at home with guns, bullets and C4 explosives. But crediting them with inducing remote-controlled coronary failures with or without chemicals and/or poison, would be far-fetched.

Of course in superstition-bound Malaysia, Deepak’s book about Rosmah’s witchcraft and bomoh sorties and escapades cannot be totally ignored!

There have been numerous U-turns made by various individuals linked to the case: first there was the dramatic withdrawal of P.I. Bala's incendiary statutory declaration of 1st July 2008, followed by a second statutory declaration on 4th July which glaringly omitted all references to Najib Razak. Then there was RPK's shocking appearance on TV3 in April 2011 where he backpedalled on his explosive 18 June 2008 statutory declaration naming Rosmah Mansor as an active party to the execution of the Mongolian woman. Following that we had Deepak Jaikishan's titillating series of media conferences wherein he revealed his own role in the dramatic damage control exercise following P.I. Bala's first SD, in the process implicating Najib Razak's brother Nazim, as well as Cecil Abraham, a senior legal counsel, in the cover-up. Shortly after Deepak's public confessions, there were reports of shady land deals involving Umno bigwigs who had attempted to shortchange Deepak, thereby prompting him to spill the beans. In the aftermath, Deepak Jaikishan abruptly vanished from public view, and even the Bar Council's disciplinary hearing on Cecil Abraham's alleged role in the cover-up eventually evaporated into thin air. Do you believe money was the common denominator in all these high-profile U-turns? Or might there have been ominous threats involved?

We have to look at each case separately.

PI Bala was certainly coerced into withdrawing SD1. His wife and children’s lives were also threatened. They were bundled out of Malaysia to Singapore, Thailand, and then India, within 24 hours of SD1. Who has the power to do that in Malaysia? Who has the power to alter immigration records, as testified to by Altantuya’s cousin?  No doubt PI Bala, finding himself in a Catch 22 situation, tried to make some money in the circumstances he was thrust into. But, his primary motivation in pointing the finger at Najib and others was never money.

RPK’s son Azman who was in prison on trumped-up charges of theft had claimed he was being tortured in prison and had attempted suicide. The relationship between father and long-lost son may have been tenuous. But, it would have taken a cold-hearted father of stone to ignore a son’s dire predicament in that situation. Whatever deal RPK made with Najib, the result was his son was freed and found his way to safety soon in London.

But everyone must remember that in RPK’s original SD, he clearly did not say what everyone thought he did. The opening sentence there clearly starts with “I have been reliably informed…” He was clearly saying he only had second-hand knowledge of the accusations against Najib and Rosmah. So, he can’t really be faulted for everyone’s presumption. Of course he could have clarified it later, instead of allowing the apparent misunderstanding to mushroom internationally, but did nothing to dampen opinions that Najib and Rosmah were guilty.

When he attempted to do so in the 2011 TV3 interview, he of course lost credibility and respect. Legions of his fans dumped him forever.

Deepak Jaikishan the carpet dealer

What we should now take seriously are Deepak’s numerous accusations implicating Najib and Rosmah in Altantuya’s murder and in coercing PI Bala to recant SD1.

Deepak belongs in that exclusive class of Malaysia’s amoral Alibaba fraudtrepreneurs. Money is his only credo. He was investigated by MACC and Bank Negara and came out with guns blazing that he was fronting for Najib and Rosmah.

But, so far he has not been sued by Najib or Rosmah for his accusatory YouTube videos, Black Rose 1.0, witchcraft book, etc. So, the public are entitled to assume that Najib and Rosmah are guilty.

We can also assume that Deepak has the real goods on Najib and Rosmah, for how else can he still be walking tall and free?

Deepak did not vanish. He got married in 2014 and probably needed some private time to think things out, given the additional family baggage and responsibility.

He also came out last year saying he was prepared to testify against Najib and Rosmah under oath if he were granted full immunity.

In recent days, it has emerged that Deepak has decided not to contest the civil case filed against him by PI Bala’s wife, represented by solicitor Americk Sidhu. This basically means that all that PI Bala had stated in SD1 is true and Deepak concurs that Najib and Rosmah were absolutely behind PI Bala’s disappearance and withdrawal of SD1.

As for the Bar Council's ongoing inquiry into Cecil Abraham’s possible misconduct – illegally drafting PI Bala’s SD2 - we are still waiting for a public announcement of its verdict. The delay is annoying, but no doubt they will come out with some statement like: “The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine” - or something boring like that.

There are hundreds of interwoven threads around the Altantuya murder case involving complexities within complexities. How were you able to gather these seemingly disparate threads and re-weave them into a coherent, readable narrative? Did you use index cards or special software to keep the data organized and accessible?

E.S. Shankar: encyclopedic erudition

No, it’s nothing special. I did it the old-fashioned way that has much to do with my UK (London) accountancy training as what in those days was referred to as an ‘articled clerk.’ I went about it methodically, downloaded and organized articles and links in folders in my Dell laptop, and made copious notes in an old diary. I then read and re-read them many, many times to gather and understand it all.

Fortunately, I have an analytical brain that can (no, I don’t have a photographic memory) accommodate and retain a vast array of information, recall and search out the threads, and often make connections, and write them out in a logical and fairly readable manner.

Please give us a brief summary of your career prior to your embarking on your current vocation as an author of controversial books?

I must first tell you that during my schooldays, Mokhtar Dahari, Malaysia’s greatest footballer, was in the same year in Victoria Institution as I was. We both played for the VI U/15 first eleven. We even used to cycle home together. This is something I have always been proud of and can never forget.

I am what is called a P/Q accountant (part qualified). I did not get through all my final Chartered Accountancy (ICAEW) exam papers way back in the 1980’s. On returning to Malaysia, I worked as the financial controller and later CEO in a leading private company. After stints at business development at two real estate Plcs, and a brief stint as a consultant at a Plc, I quit working in 2009, to embark on full-time writing.

Like so many, I was outraged by the kangaroo courts and crooked trials in the persecution of Anwar Ibrahim. I decided I had to do something to stop Malaysia from becoming a police state and embarked on satire and sopo blogging, as writing was my forte. The threads of my various blog posts led to Tiger Isle: A Government of Thieves published by Gerakbudaya Enterprise.

However, Tiger Isle was not my first book. In 2011 I collated all my blog posts from my VI blog (about my schooldays between 1966-1972) and self-published them as a hard-cover book titled Let Us Now With Thankfulness. Sales were surprisingly brisk.

I have a great interest in Malaysian history, and have written articles about Parameswara, Hang Li Po, etc., based on the Sejarah Melayu, and a short piece titled A Brief History of the Peoples of Malaya.

Besides that, I read everything I can get my hands on about cosmology, quantum theory and phenomena (so far I have understood perhaps about 30%, probably less, of what I’ve read). My other hobbies besides reading are cricket, football and music (very eclectic taste as in books).

Your debut novel, Tiger Isle: A Government of Thieves, was published in late 2012. It depicts a fictional kleptocracy broadly inspired by actual events and characters in Malaysia. Was the book well received by the public and did it result in any unwanted attention from the Malaysian secret police?

Yes, the initial print was well received and sold out. But, there have been no reprint orders, despite the fact that Tiger Isle won the 3rd prize for fiction in the STAR/Popular national literary awards. Booker prize winner Tan Twan Eng’s The Garden of Evening Mists was placed 2nd!!

As for unwanted attention from the Special Branch, no, I received none. I was told by some informed bloggers that the standard of English is so poor in Malaysia nowadays, that a satire/fiction novel in English would fly way below the radar of Najib’s thugs and goons.

Was Murdered in Malaysia written in Malaysia or when you were living abroad? Did you go into voluntary exile because you anticipated unpleasant consequences if you remained in the country? Or were you already planning to migrate anyway?

MIM was conceived and completed wholly in Malaysia.

I went overseas only in September of this year, as clearly, I feared for my safety and life once the book was published. I am no Mandela, and as someone recently said, you can’t do much fighting from the inside of a prison.

I have never contemplated emigrating. Malaysia has always been my home. If the coast was clear, I would return home in a flash.

Altantuya & son

From all the evidence already on hand it would appear that the only reasonable conclusion we can arrive at is that there has been a colossal cover-up to protect the most powerful couple in the nation. With the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Chief of Police actively collaborating to suppress a potential resurrection of the Altantuya case - and with the Scorpene investigation in France yielding no further results after several years - do you envisage any unforeseen breakthroughs that might lead to a final denouement in this gruesome drama?

No one must be allowed to get away with murder. No one. In the Altantuya killing, we also have the added spice of corruption involving the RM7.5 billion Scorpene submarines, treason and perversion of the course of justice by Najib and Rosmah. The Navy, police, AG and judiciary are all involved in this travesty of justice.

No, we must keep pressing till Najib is thrown out of office, and a truly independent Royal Commission of Inquiry is instituted to lift us out of the clutches of this government of murderers and thieves.

One of the convicted assassins is currently detained by Australian immigration, while the other is presumably still in prison pending execution. Do you feel there might be a possibility that either or both may decide to go public with their stories and tell all?

I doubt either will talk any more. Azilah has remained silent from day one. We can safely assume that whatever deal was struck between him and Najib/Rosmah, it has been honored and he will go to the gallows as his part of the bargain. Of course, there is talk (not to be discounted) that eventually, he will receive a royal pardon.

Sirul has now made the startling admission that it was Abduk Razak Baginda who pulled the trigger. Despite that, our worthless and political IGP insists that there is no new evidence to re-open the murder investigations. Should he not be hung by his goolies?

I also believe that Sirul is using his safe position in Australia to canvass for money from Najib. He has asked for A$15 million to keep his gap shut. No, he will never go public with so much money at stake.

In recent months another monumental scandal has erupted in the form of 1MDB. Do you feel this massive financial debacle has eclipsed the Altantuya murder? Many who seemed apathetic to seeing justice being done in the Mongolian murder case now appear to be galvanized into action by the prospect of being held liable to a public debt of unprecedented proportions. Does this suggest to you that money remains the bottom line - not ethics, morality, or justice?

No, the Altantuya murder has not been forgotten in Malaysia or in the rest of the world. Do remember that PI Bala’s civil case against PM Najib and his two brothers, Rosmah, etc, is not over. I would bet my bottom dollar that Americk Sidhu and his team will not let up even if our judges continue to place obstacles in their way.

Do not forget that the 101 East team from Al Jazeera is keeping close tabs on every development of the case - as is Sarawak Report, The Wall Street Journal, Asia Sentinel, The Economist, and one or two leading newspapers in Australia..

The 1MDB fraud and fiasco is godsent. It has furnished us firm, additional evidence that Najib is a serial liar and thief, and is unfit to be the prime minister of even a fourth world state. His statement that RM2.6 billion deposited in his personal bank account was a “donation from a friendly Arab party’ has provoked intense anger and outrage among Malaysians as never before.

The real problem in Malaysia is public apathy created by Najib and his minions with our descent into a police state. The well-off fear loss of their accumulated wealth and comforts. The silent majority have that ‘let that other guy fight for our rights’ attitude. If push comes to shove, they will sulk in silence or emigrate. So, ethics and morality are forced to take a back seat while the nation burns.

History tells us that a few good men and women will have to lead and make the sacrifices.

As a relatively young independent nation, we have a long way to go before ethics, justice, moral and human rights issues take precedence over money. You must remember that before the USA became what it is today, they had to fight a war of independence and go through a civil war, all within 100 years of 1775.

So, there is hope for Malaysia yet!

Najib and Rosmah remain in charge of the main levers of government, despite being the target of so much negative publicity. Yet the feeling on the ground is that their luck has almost run out and that they will soon be forced to step down, no matter whom they bribe. Do you think, when they are no longer in power, that the Altantuya saga will be revived and finally resolved?

The era of Najib/Rosmah’s villainy is a shameful period in Malaysian history. Our Constitution will have to be amended to ensure that never again shall so much power be allowed to be concentrated in one person’s hands.

The Altantuya murder MUST be one of the primary issues to be resolved post-Najib/Rosmah. The PEOPLE must be protected from such an incident ever again recurring.

What would be the ideal of scenario, in your view, if power changes hands in Malaysia? Under what circumstances would you feel comfortable enough to return to your homeland?

Power will definitely change hands for the better in Malaysia. It is only a question of when. Look at Japan, Taiwan, Korea, India and China and no one can doubt that the change WILL come.

Ideally, we should proscribe race or religion based political parties. Religion should be removed from the province of government funded or aided schools and institutions of higher learning, government offices and statutory bodies.

I will negotiate to return as soon as Najib is thrown out of office. I will ask for immunities from government prosecution and/or private criminal or civil law suits relating to MIM, and guarantees for my safety and that of my family.

Blog - http://donplaypuks.blogspot.com/

Website - http://esshankar.com/

MURDERED IN MALAYSIA: THE ALTANTUYA STORY

This meticulously researched, honest and informative book is for you and for all those Malaysians who want to know the full truth about the disgraceful and barbaric murder of a Mongolian girl, who had the misfortune to associate herself with persons which led ultimately to her murder and the disintegration of her dead body, and perhaps her unborn child, by explosion.

E.S Shankar has produced a tour de force in terms of research and the comprehensive scope of his enquiries, leaving no stone unturned in his quest to bring to light facts that were disgracefully suppressed and covered up by one of the most shocking examples of interference in the judiciary that Malaysia has experienced in its history. The impact on the independence of Malaysia's law enforcement agencies has been far-reaching and malign.

Clare Rewcastle-Brown

Sarawak Report

Encourage your friends to buy this book and support 

freedom of information and justice.

[First posted 19 October 2015]

Last days of the vampire kings on earth (repost)

Ex-employee implicates Taib Mahmud in video

Malaysiakini | March 3, 2011 | 1:34pm


A video implicating Abdul Taib Mahmud has emerged in which the Sarawak chief minister's own former employee fingers him as the owner of wealth worth billions of ringgit in North America alone.

In 'Film Tribute to Ross Boyert' on whistleblower website Sarawak Report (SR), Boyert - the former chief operating officer of Taib's Sakti International, Wallysons Inc and two other US corporations holding up to US$80 million in properties - speaks out against the chief minister.

Boyert also confirms what has been documented elsewhere about Taib's possessions in the US and Canada, that Taib “was the boss” of Sakti International” in the US and linked to the Sakto corporation in Canada.

“Taib is the owner of this company and of all of its assets,“ said Boyert in the 16-minute video documentary.

Taib is said to be linked to a little under four dozen other companies around the world, including 13 in Malaysia, 10 in Australia, seven in Hong Kong and three in the British Virgin Islands.

In addition to Taib's billionaire status, Boyert also refers to the chief minister's Canadian son-in-law Sean Murray who chairs the Ottawa-based Sakto corporation and acts upon the instruction of the Sarawak chief minister.

“Taib was the one who instructed Sean Murray to take over Sakti International,” said Boyert.

When asked how he knew that, Boyert said: “Sean told me.”

The video, according to SR, contains interviews with Boyert and his wife only weeks before Boyert's mysterious death.

Boyert had in the video also accused the Taib of having mounted campaign to discredit and ruin him.

“We are talking about an extensive, expensive operation... It's designed to break you down. It's designed to make you so discredited that no one will believe you,” said Boyert.

It was as if Taib's message was “You sue me and we'll show what will happen to you and your family,” said Boyert.

The alleged harassment took place ever since he took his former employer to court for unlawful dismissal and breach of contract.

In a press release on the video, Swiss-based social and environmental activists the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) said it and its campaign partners in the US, the UK and Malaysia are asking the US' FBI "to probe the circumstances that led to the death of former Taib US aide Ross Boyert, to review the FBI's rental contracts with the Taib-controlled firm Wallysons Inc and to freeze all Taib assets in the United States."

Boyert died last October, a few weeks after he gave the website the expose on Taib.

He was found dead in a rare form of suspected suicide, with a bag taped around his head in an LA motel room.

In the video, the producer said Boyert had spoken about his predicament in a way that has come back to haunt her.

In reference to the ordeal and pressure he was made to undergo at the hands allegedly of Taib's vindictiveness, Boyert said: "The best analogy is 'if you put a plastic bag over somebody's head, eventually they're going to succumb for lack of oxygen. That's all.”

It was an uncanny description of his death that occurred a few weeks later.

In its tribute to Boyert, SR said: "We filmed with the Boyerts and came to like and respect them. We now present that story as a tribute to their bravery in speaking out."

FILM TRIBUTE TO ROSS BOYERT

[First posted 4 March 2011]

THE NEW AG'S THOUGHTS ON 1MDB & ITS PERPETRATORS

Newly appointed Malaysian Attorney-General Tommy Thomas

By Tommy Thomas
July 26, 2016

The might of the most powerful nation in the world has been brought to bear to investigate, uncover and institute legal proceedings to forfeit assets purchased through money stolen from proceeds of bonds sales by 1MDB.

The combined efforts of three US agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), with the assistance of law enforcement agencies in other countries, have produced the most complete, holistic picture of the great fraud perpetrated by Jho Low and his co-conspirators to defraud the people of Malaysia of billions of ringgit ultimately belonging to them.

The 136-page, 513-paragraph ‘Verified Complaint for Forfeiture in Rem’ is a tour de force. The people of Malaysia, suffering under a state of powerlessness and helplessness, owe an immeasurable debt to the sterling work carried out by truly independent institutions in the United States.

As a long-time critic of US domestic and foreign policies, I pay tribute to their selfless work in exposing the greatest robbery in modern times; what is the Great Train Robbery of the 1960s compared to 1MDB!

The fact that the US initiative is brought by its newly established ‘Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative’ is significant. Thus their complaint asserts that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is a kleptocrat, a term that was only coined in the late 1990s to describe African dictators like Joseph Mobutu, Sani Abacha and Robert Mugabe plundering their own countries.

More than US$3.5 billion in funds belonging to 1MDB were stolen, and the US complaint seeks the forfeiture and recovery of more than US$1 billion in assets purchased from that stolen money. It represents the largest single action ever brought by the Kleptocracy Initiative.

The serious allegations against Najib, his stepson, Riza Aziz and Jho Low for their corrupt dealings have shamed our nation. Through their action, Malaysia has joined the ranks of the most corrupt nations in the globe.

One could not have a more succinct description of the corrupt practices engaged by these persons than what the Complaint states in Paragraph 6:-

“1MDB was ostensibly created to pursue investment and development projects for the economic benefit of Malaysia and its people, primarily relying on the issuance of various debt securities to fund these projects. However, over the course of an approximately four-year period, between approximately 2009 and at least 2013, multiple individuals, including public officials and their associates, conspired to fraudulently divert billions of dollars from 1MDB though various means, including by defrauding foreign banks and by sending foreign wire communications in furtherance of the scheme, and thereafter, to launder the proceeds of that criminal conduct, including in and through U.S. financial institutions. The funds diverted from 1MDB were used for the personal benefit of the co-conspirators and their relatives and associated, including to purchase luxury real estate in the United States, pay gambling expenses at Las Vegas casinos, acquire more than US$200 million in artwork, invest in a major New York real estate development project, and fund the production of major Hollywood films. 1MDB maintained no interest in these assets and saw no returns on these investments.”

A close reading of the comprehensive document will indicate that the draftsmen had access to thousands of incriminating materials, hardly surprising considering the reach of the FBI and IRS when the US dollar and their banking system are used for nefarious purposes. Further, the paper trail would have been immensely damning.

From their advanced state of knowledge, as demonstrated by the exhaustive nature of the civil complaint, it is only a small step for the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) to next take, that is, to institute criminal proceedings against the persons referred to in the complaint. Such criminal proceedings cannot come soon enough for all right thinking persons.

Clare Rewcastle-Brown, intrepid reporter (pic: Malaysiakini)

The US government complaint completely vindicates the brave reporting of Clare Rewcastle-Brown and the Sarawak Report, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, the Edge led by its intrepid editor Ho Kay Tat and P Gunasegaram in KiniBiz. So too the public statements of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tony Pua, Lim Kit Siang and Ambiga Sreenevasan.

They have been unfairly demonised by the Malaysian Establishment, for speaking the truth and an apology is due to them. And Malaysia owes a great debt to Clare Rewcastle-Brown for her single-minded investigative journalism of the very highest standard.

Because the complaint is in effect a history of the fraudulent dealings undertaken by 1MDB, under the control of Najib and Jho Low from the time of its birth, it should be read carefully. No summary can do justice to its detailed narration: the primary document must be reviewed.

I propose to focus on the role played by Najib and the corrupt practice of his step-son, Riza. But before I do so, mention must be made of the Verification by Robert B Heuchling, Special Agent, FBI which appears at the last page of the complaint. He has signed the complaint, thereby confirming the veracity of its contents under the penalty of perjury, and goes on to state that he has had access to files, records and information supplied to him by law enforcement officers.

This signifies personal responsibility on the part of Heuchling, establishing that he is satisfied with the truth of the matters complained of. Thus, it would be foolhardy for anyone to simply dismiss the complaint as a political document by a foreign agency wishing to undermine the Najib administration.

NAJIB ABDUL RAZAK

A minor criticism can be levelled against the complaint: its failure to actually name Najib Abdul Razak. The obvious inference is that it was a political decision not to shame a sitting prime minister most friendly to USA and its president. But the legal draftsmen, no doubt irritated by such political constraint to their freedom to plead in the manner of their choosing, make it crystal clear that Najib is “Malaysian Official 1”.

Thus, Paragraph 28 states that Malaysia Official 1 “is a high-ranking official in the Malaysian government who also held a position of authority with 1MDB”. At all material times, Najib is, and was, the prime minister, finance minister and chairperson of the advisory committee of 1MDB. No other member of the government held such triple functions, a fact expressly recognised in Paragraph 39 of the complaint.

Just in case any reader of the complaint has any difficulty in recognising Najib as Malaysian Official 1, it would be removed by reading the very next Paragraph, that is Paragraph 29 (indeed, the juxta-positioning of the 2 paragraphs is itself instructive). Riza Aziz is described as “a relative of Malaysian Official 1”. Riza is the stepson of Najib, and is not related to any other personality directly, indirectly or remotely involved in the 1MDB scandal.

In such circumstances, it is absolutely pointless for Najib and his loyal, diehard supporters to claim that because he is not named in the complaint, it does not refer to him. Indeed, the complaint cannot properly be understood in its entirety, unless one understands Najib’s dominance over 1MDB, as was the political and business reality.

The first reference to wrongdoing on Najib’s part appears in Paragraphs 99 to 102. Paragraph 99 states that US$20 million was transferred between February and June 2011 into Najib’s now notorious personal account with AmBank, Kuala Lumpur, from monies stolen from 1MDB. Paragraph 102 states that this was the same AmBank account which received US$681 million in March 2013.

The second corrupt action involving Najib is referred to in Paragraphs 178 and 193, Paragraph 178 states that 1MDB bond proceeds were diverted from their intended purpose for the personal benefit of among others, Najib, which further evidences “a misappropriation of public funds”. In the case of Najib, Blackstone in that transaction transferred at least US$30 million to his Ambank account: see Paragraph 193.

The third reference to corrupt monies received by Najib can be found in Paragraph 229 which states that during a five-day period in March 2013, US$681 million was transferred from the Tanore account to Najib’s AmBank account, from which US$620 was returned to the Tanore account in August 2013.

What happened to the difference of US$61 million, is not mentioned in the complaint. Thus, it is clear that at least a total of US$731 million was received by Najib in his Ambank account.

Paragraph 238 is critical. It explains why creditors were prepared to purchase bonds issued by 1MDB, which is a company with a paid-up capital of just RM1 million, but able to issue US$3 billion worth of bonds in March 2013 (to give just one example of such a bond issue). That is because Najib, as finance minister, signed a letter of support on behalf of the government of Malaysia.

Regardless of the title of that document, effectively the government was guaranteeing repayment if 1MDB defaults. Najib was not only prepared to risk injury to Malaysia’s sovereign immunity by being sued in the Courts of England, but more importantly was also undertaking to pay tax-payers monies from the Consolidated Fund, if 1MDB defaults.

In so signing the letter of support, Najib was placed in a terrible conflict of interest position: his interest as a beneficiary of corrupt monies overriding his duty as a public servant elected to protect taxpayers’ money.

The complaint also focuses on the offering circular, leading to the issue of 1MDB Bonds. Paragraph 242 states that the offering circular was misleading because it failed to disclose that Najib “would receive hundreds of millions of dollars from the proceeds of the bond sale within days of its closing”.

Paragraphs 259 to 264 deal with a subject familiar to Malaysia: the title to this part of the complaint reads: “US$681 million was transferred from the Tanore Account to an Account Belonging to Malaysian Official 1”. Paragraph 259 simply states:

“Shortly after proceeds of the 2013 bond sale were diverted to the Tanore Account, US$681,000,000.00 was sent from the Tanore Account to a bank account belonging to Malaysian Official 1.”

No guesses needed that this official was Najib, (and no other person). According to Paragraphs 248 and 249, Eric Tan Kim Loong, a close associate of Jho Low, was the sole authorised signatory to the Tanore Account, but in March 2013 1MDB Officer 3 was given signing authority on the Tanore Account through a Power of Attorney.

Thus, although Paragraph 262 pleads that RM620 million was returned by Najib to the Tanore Account, it does not mean that Najib could not have had access to it, thereafter, since the Tanore Account was controlled by Jho Low. What is clear is that the monies were not a gift from the Saudi royalty, but proceeds from bonds issued by 1MDB, which means 1MDB must repay them. And if 1MDB cannot, Malaysian taxpayers will.

The allegations levelled against Malaysian Official 1 in these paragraphs of the complaint are most grave, and indicate a pattern of systematic corruption, while holding the most important office in the state. Again, there is absolutely no doubt that although these paragraphs do not expressly name Najib, it is impossible to think of any other individual fitting the role.

RIZA AZIZ

What has so far received far less publicity is the corrupt monies received by Najib’s stepson, Riza. It is a classic case of a kleptocrat in charge of the nation’s treasures plundering them for the benefit of a close relative. Again, Najib placed himself in a conflict of interest position.

Paragraph 120 of the complaint begins the case against Riza. It states there that shortly after receiving proceeds of the two 2012 bond sales from 1MDB, US$238 million was transferred to a Singapore bank account belonging to Red Granite Capital, a BVI entity owned by Riza.

Jho Low & Riza Aziz, would-be Malaysian Gatsbys (pic: FreeMalaysiaToday)

About US$100 million of this money was used to purchase luxury real estate in the US and UK for Riza’s personal benefit, and about US$64 million to fund his movie production company, Red Granite Pictures. The scheme to defraud 1MDB of US$238 million is explained in detail from Paragraphs 202 to 219.

Riza Aziz also transferred some US$41 million from the sum of US$238 million to be applied to defray gambling expenses incurred in the Venetian Casino, Las Vegas by Jho Low, Eric Tan and himself (Riza): see Paragraph 220 and 226. The final corrupt dealing by Riza was his purchase of the Qentas Townhouse in posh Belgravia, London for £23 million: see Paragraph 492.

Unprecedented, shocking, massive, brazen, blatant: one soon runs out of words to describe the scale and magnitude of the corrupt actions of the wrong-doers. How those who designed, devised and implemented these dastardly deeds thought they could escape in the modern, borderless world is itself mind-boggling.

PROCEEDINGS IN MALAYSIA

Why were similar proceedings not instituted in Malaysia? After all, Malaysia is the natural jurisdiction since the company in question, 1MDB, is incorporated and carries on business here. Najib, Riza and Jho Low are Malaysians. So the nexus to Malaysia is greater than anywhere else.

Is it not embarrassing for the attorney-general of Malaysia to be reminded by his counter-part in the United States, under whose leadership the complaint was brought, that stealing from public funds by Najib is a criminal offence under Malaysian law. Thus, in Paragraph 499, seven separate offences under our Penal Code are listed as being violated: three provisions under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act are also identified in that Paragraph.

Bank fraud is a crime under at least three provisions under the Penal Code, as we are reminded in Paragraph 500. And the entire world knows about the universal application of Anti-Money Laundering Legislation (like AMLA) across the globe; a consequence of 9/11. And yet no criminal proceedings have been commenced in Malaysia!

Former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former attorney-general Gani Patail will testify as to what happened to them a year ago when they tried to act against Najib. Unfortuately, the late Kevin Morrais’ role in the 1MDB scandal has never been publicly clarified, and remains a matter of rumour and speculation.

A climate of fear has enveloped all the senior office-holders of the major institutions of the nation. MACC, the inspector-general of police (IGP) and Bank Negara have gone silent. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been disbanded, and the auditor-general’s report has been marked an official secret.

Because 1MDB was the company which directly suffered losses worth billions of ringgit, they should have filed civil recovery actions against persons like Jho Low and Najib, who were supposed to look after their interests but in fact were plundering it. Since the wrong-doers are still very much in control of 1MDB, it is not surprising that the company has not complained, much less resorted to litigation against anyone.

Litigation by other parties have so far been unsuccessful. I should disclose that I was part of the legal team that acted for some of the opposition parties and personalities when they sued Najib and 1MDB last July upon discovery of the US$681 million being credited into his personal account at Ambank.

The civil suit was summarily struck out as being wholly without merit, although all the contentions therein, based principally on the Sarawak Report and Wall Street Journal, have been corroborated by the US complaint.

NAJIB MUST RESIGN

It is now abundantly clear that Najib Abdul Razak has long forfeited his right to remain in office as our prime minister. The documentary evidence, which cannot be denied, is overwhelming. US$731 million of corrupt money was credited into his personal account, and his stepson received US$238 million. In the eyes of the world he is a kleptocrat, and cannot stay in office. He must resign immediately.

These Gestapo Tactics By The New UMNO Triumvirate Only Spell Guilt

New Troika plus the unofficial boss (in green)

Sarawak Report | 2 August 2015

If the new UMNO leadership had nothing to hide would they be lashing out in the Gestapo fashion, witnessed by astonished Malaysians over the past few days?

And if the documents published by Sarawak Report were false or ‘doctored’, why have these desperadoes been ordering the ransacking of public offices and the arrest and interrogation of all the public investigators who have been looking into 1MDB on the grounds of “criminal leakages”?

How the headlines look these days in Malaysia

To the contrary, were Najib secure in the knowledge of his own innocence he and his remaining henchmen would be relaxed and aloof.

They would take a superior position, while of course issuing a vicious libel action through their lawyers to destroy and ruin the writer of Sarawak Report.

They have not.

Far from it, they are instead acting like desperate men determined to hide, bully and crush the truth by instilling fear of aggressive action against anyone who so much as mentions the issue that is exposing them so dangerously.

Don’t mention 1MDB!

Look how the Triumvirate have come out gnashing their teeth and brandishing their fists over the past few hours.

Familiar salute? Zahid boasts he is a "Muslim fundamentalist'

Zahid Hamidi, the new key linchpin in the Najib regime, as Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister rolled into one, has plunged into the role of bully boy and human rights abuser like a mad barking dog, ordering arrests and destroying in an instant the expensively crafted PR image of Najib in the West.

Calling himself an “Islamic fundamentalist” Zahid yesterday threatened the media that they should “expect no warning” of him “taking action” if he found them “spinning”.

By this Malaysia was left in no doubt that he was warning the press to halt any mention of the scandal surrounding 1MDB, which has embroiled his boss.

The world now realises that there is no real freedom of the press in Malaysia or genuine rule of law.

And while the world is looking on (slack jawed) perhaps we should recall some other recent revealing remarks by this bunch?

For example when Najib Razak rallied his party faithful earlier this year by telling them they should “act more like ISIL fighters” and be solidly obedient to him.

Yesterday Najib repeated that sentiment, whilst also condemning what he called interference by “white foreigners” (meaning journalists). Najib proceeded to then openly announce to his fellow Malaysians that he values loyalty to him over ability in those he appoints to government office.

Najib’s problem is exposure

All this is as revealing as it is brutal and vile.

Why has the man who has so long attempted to act the suave modern reformer suddenly started lashing out like a thug?

Yesterday, amidst all his tub thumping and foreigner bashing he told us in his own words exactly why. According to reports on one of his stirring speeches he complained:

“During Mahathir’s 22 years there were problems too but not like now. Everything is being exposed in the Sarawak Report as if foreigners are deciding how we should run the country.”

“What’s their right? Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot allow this to continue. I cannot allow the white people to determine our future.”[Free Malaysia Today]

Mr Najib Razak, it is our human right to report and you have just publicly acknowledged that you have been “exposed.” By those “problems” you mean plainly mean corruption.

The only way is down?

So what is the rest of the world to think and what are Malaysians to do with such an embarrassment for a leader?

Of course, the third member of the new ruling Triumvirate (the rest of the cabinet have been deafeningly silent the past few days) is the army minister, Najib’s cousin Hishamuddin Hussein.

Hate against the West the way forward for Malaysia?

This puts every lever of raw power in the hands of Najib, his deputy and his own cousin (overlooked by the unofficial “Big Boss”, Rosmah Mansor) for as long as he retains his UMNO party base.

UMNO has long adopted the same strategies as the old Soviet communist party and similar dictatorships, by assuming almost totalitarian control of Malaysia and its civil institutions – as everyone well knows.

But, is this latest brutal clamp down on all critics of the country’s now crippling corruption issues what UMNO and Malaysia really want?

With an already plummeting economy, not least because the cracks and BN’s false figures are now becoming ever more apparent to outsiders, Malaysia faces a very grim prospect if this Najib coup d’etat succeeds in bringing the country under his total, foreigner-hating dictatorship.

Malaysia, which was until so recently regarded as a possible ‘Asian Tiger’, rising into the category of leading, modern open economies like South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore, will surely descend into the category of an ‘Asian basket-case’ – along with Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia.

It is those former South East Asian dictatorships, which have subsequently found their liberty, that are now being talked up by the world economists, including Indonesia and the Philippines, who were once thought of as servants by Malaysians.

Down but still not out (Malaysiakini)

If the Rosmah/Najib dictatorship slips now into full throttle – a corrupted establishment with a muzzled media and obedient civil service and judiciary – might Malaysians become the ones forced to send their daughters to earn money in better off countries, while the rest of the world ceases business with such a set up?

What a shame for Malaysia if such were to come to pass, but it appears to be the price that Najib is willing to exact, so that he can continue in power and remain protected from the consequences of his actions at 1MDB.

It is not at all in the capacity of Sarawak Report, a mere blog, to determine such events, as Najib is ridiculously attempting to bluff his audiences.

But, it is certainly our right and capacity to report on them.

[Reproduced from Sarawak Report as a public service to Malaysians unable to access the site, which has been "blocked."] 

CAMERON OUGHT TO CANCEL HIS MALAYSIA VISIT (Sarawak Report)

Sarawak Report | 28 July 2015

Today, Tuesday, David Cameron attends a conference in Singapore condemning corruption.

The British Prime Minister has made the issue of rooting out global corruption one of his key platforms as a world leader. He is absolutely right to do so, which is why he should not then carry on to visit Malaysia on this occasion, just as Najib Razak has carried out a shocking strike against all those who have questioned his own corruption.

Sarawak Report wholeheartedly agrees with Mr Cameron that corruption is without question one of the most dangerous forces threatening liberty and prosperity in our modern world and it has been growing exponentially.

Corruption begins at the top and works downward through societies, making it extremely hard to counter before it has done immense damage to the rule of law and well being of the people.

It then spreads outwards to other countries.

Malaysia, for example, has become notorious as the nexus for world timber corruption, with Sarawak-based companies causing havoc across the world’s remaining forest regions with their well-established practice of finding who in power can be bribed into allowing the destruction of their own country’s natural resource.

Cameron will himself point out in today’s Singapore speech how corruption has caused problems for his native London, as dirty money from across the globe has poured into the city, pushing property prices skywards and making it virtually impossible for Britain’s own upstanding citizens to live in their capital city.

Sarawak Report has referred to the problem regularly and pointed out how one of the world’s biggest investors in London property are none other than Malaysians.

How come, we have asked, has this small country of little apparent wealth managed to top the league in recent years for property investment in London, followed by Singapore?

In 2013, Malaysia and Singapore were the top two investors in London property, spending more than UK citizens themselves. Did this, we asked, have anything to do with so-called ‘capital flight’ (siphoning of corrupt money) in advance of GE 2013, in case BN lost (which it nearly did)?

And yet, Mr Cameron was happy to pose that year outside Battersea Power Station, which had been bought and is now being developed by the Malaysian government-owned Sime Darby, which has been one of the biggest players in the criminal destruction of Sarawak’s native lands in the grab for timber and planting of oil palm.

Sime Darby has been moving into African timber areas latterly and has been condemned in those countries for similar criminal practices there.

Cameron is more than right to take his stand against corruption, but he needs to be extremely careful not to be caught out being hypocritical about it. That is the danger of pointing out sin in others, even if it needs to be done.

DON'T BE SEEN CONDONING NAJIB AT SUCH A TIME

When Cameron’s plan to include Malaysia in this South East Asia visit was drawn up at the start of this month, Sarawak Report wrote to the UK Foreign Office and High Commission in Malaysia to warn against it.

We pointed out that Malaysia is currently undergoing a political crisis where the very integrity of the man in charge, the Prime Minister, is in question.

We pointed out that Najib Razak has found himself unable to answer basic questions about the theft of billions of dollars from the 1MDB development fund, which he is personally in charge of and that he had equally been unable to answer why USD700 million of 1MDB related money had been traced into his own bank account.

Sarawak Report explained in its letter that to visit Mr Najib Razak in such circumstances would be seen in the eyes of Malaysians as giving this tainted Prime Minister a vote of international confidence and support by a respected friendly nation, with close historical and cultural ties.

He should not do that at this critical time, when what has been left uncorrupted in the Malaysian leadership and institutions are struggling to deal with this massive problem of high level malfeasance.

ILLEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT?

Najib Razak, having failed to give a proper account over very many months of his actions over 1MDB has nevertheless indicated that the money that went into his account just before GE 2013 was “not for personal use”.

The acknowledgement has been widely understood to imply that this money was taken by him out of the public development fund in order to illegally bankroll BN’s election victory.

Staggeringly, such is the level of morality to which BN has sunk, that in the Prime Minister’s own eyes this apparently serves as an excuse.

Indeed, when Sarawak Report exposed similar looting by the Sabah State Minister, Musa Aman (who passed a hundred million dollars of timber kickbacks into his personal accounts) the Federal authorities likewise let him off, because of his assurance that he had only been using the money to illegally rig the local elections.

For what it’s worth, we had in fact shown that Musa had put a good deal of this cash to his personal use, like educating his sons in Australia. But, Najib took no action against him and clearly expects that he too should be let off on the same grounds.

However, Najib has been rightly condemned throughout Malaysia by upstanding people of all political persuasions, races, colours and religions for doing what each of us know to be very wrong.

Even the much revered former strongman of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir himself, of Najib’s own UMNO party has turned against his former protege over 1MDB and has condemned this open admission of illegal funding in 2013 – going so far as to rightly say that it de-legitimises the result of GE 2013, meaning that Najib’s government has no legal status!

We all know what Najib’s response to any such concerns has been. He has outrageously abused his judicial influence in order to drive the opposition leader (who got more votes than him at the election despite the rigging and gerrymandering) into jail.

Najib met the man who was to accuse Anwar the day before he made that accusation in his own house. Then, when the High Court threw out the case for lack of evidence it was Najib who astonishingly ordered an appeal against the acquittal!

So, is Cameron prepared to wade into this crisis at its very height and give an endorsement to this self-proclaimed ‘moderate Muslim democrat’ Najib Razak, just because he has some jets to sell? (we will come back to the matter of these jets).

If so, so much, the world will say, for Cameron’s words against corruption, because it is actions that count.

INTERFERING IN A CRISIS?

Consider the absolute gravity of the present moment of this crisis and the crucial aspect of the next 24 hours, during which Mr Cameron’s last minute, snap decision visit is to be made.

Sarawak Report has itself been accused of interfering in Malaysia’s internal affairs by Najib’s own supporters, merely by exercising the right of a free press. We have investigated 1MDB and exposed (along with other brave local journalists and also international papers) the shocking corruption that has outraged the Malaysian public and is now putting Najib under pressure.

In response, Najib has acted to shut us up, as well as Malaysia’s own most respected business paper The Edge, by illegally barring our site from the internet and illegally removing the printing licence of The Edge.

Today, in the face of an aghast public he has taken a further shocking step and sought to shut up his own internal party critics in the same manner.

In a desperate but ruthless attempt to save his own skin, he has conducted the first cabinet reshuffle of his entire career, purely with the objective of removing his critics over this matter of personal corruption and the stolen billions from 1MDB.

Najib has today booted out his own Deputy Prime Minister, who had taken on the role as the most senior member of his cabinet to speak out about Malaysia’s concerns at Najib’s apparent grand corruption.

Remember, Mr Cameron, that Najib has been clinging to his posts against Cabinet advice, instead of taking a holiday over the past few weeks, purely on the excuse that he needs to be there in KL to honour your state visit!

You will be arriving to meet a government where the Deputy PM and four of the cabinet’s other most upstanding senior members have just been sacked for expressing concern over corruption at 1MDB.

You will be greeted by a new Deputy PM, retaining a dual role as Home Minister, who has been publicly announcing that he is looking to have the UK citizen who writes Sarawak Report arrested and extradited by his “friends in Scotland Yard”, because he reckons she has “interfered” in the politics of Malaysia by exposing what everyone knows to be the truth about corruption.

By agreeing to publicly meet with these people you are going to be making a statement that everyone in Malaysia will register as an endorsement of the disgraceful actions that Najib has just taken to protect himself from criticism over corruption and equal endorsement of such threats against a British journalist going about an honest job.

Is that taking a stand against corruption? And is this not the ultimate form of political interference you could possibly make in the domestic affairs of Malaysia to visit it right now?

ALL TO SELL SOME JETS?

Consider the other illegal actions that the Malaysian Prime Minister has just taken in this past 24 hours of long knives preceding your visit.

Having spent months insisting that Malaysia waits and does nothing whilst the various ‘task forces’ investigate the allegations over 1MDB, the Prime Minister has now unconstitutionally sacked the key leaders of those task forces.

His announcement this morning that the Attorney General is to be dismissed owing to his “ill health” surprised the AG as much as anyone else, it has been confirmed. Gani Paital had been due to retire anyway in October, but told enquirers he is perfectly well.

It is unconstitutional under Malaysian law to sack the AG in this manner.

Likewise, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, which has been conducting enquiries into the 1MDB matter with sober diligence, constrained as they are by the secrecy demanded of the Prime Minister, Nur Jazlan, has today been sacked.

Jazlan has made clear in recent weeks that he has resisted offers of promotion from the Prime Minister in return for resigning from the PAC.

It is clear to all concerned that Najib wants a tame Chairman, who can then be used to dumb down the work of the PAC, stop asking for the relevant witnesses to appear (Jho Low and Nik Kamil and others having gone into hiding abroad and the two CEO’s having so far refused to turn up at their appointed hearings).

Najib patently wants the new Chairman to also sack the DAP member of the committee. Tony Pua, who is one of the brightest politicians in Malaysia and who commands a lethally forensic knowledge of the issues relating to 1MDB.

Najib’s men want Tony out before they start having to answer questions about what happened at 1MDB – and the PM is readily obliging them.

Does not this series of actions over the past 24 hours contrast mightily with Najib’s own words just yesterday when he told the Deputy Prime Minister:

“The investigation [into 1MDB] is ongoing and we should give those involved space to perform their duties. Therefore, all parties – especially those from the government, including Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin – should wait for the findings of the investigation to be released.”

So much for giving those investigators “space” – because he realised he could no longer control these investigators, Najib within hours has sacked them instead.

Who is next on the list the public are asking? The Head of the Central Bank Negara, who is also one of the leading members of the former Task Force set up by the Prime Minister himself?

Maybe also the IGP (Inspector General of Police) who has been a key defender of the PM/FM, but who on the other hand has been rather sitting on the fence, given the growing number of arrest warrants that have been issued against people related to 1MDB?

Power couple: One close former insider has called them “the Bonnie and Clyde” of Malaysia to Sarawak Report

Indeed, Sarawak Report has learnt from insiders that the anonymous ‘Dato’ arrested yesterday was none other than Abdul Azeez, Rosmah Mansor’s crony chairman of the Tabung Haji pilgrim fund, which was raided earlier this year in order to settle 1MDB’s debt repayments (through a ludicrously over-priced land deal).

With Dato Azeez being so close to Rosmah it is likely that his detention will have caused the eruption of a particular well known political volcano in Malaysia – that of the temper of the first lady.

These dramatic, ruthless, extreme and downright petulant measures against everybody and everything currently troubling the all powerful first couple has all the hallmarks of a Rosmah Mansor strike.

After all, it was Rosmah who was in communication with Azeez, guiding and controlling his statements and decisions, during the Tabung Haji crisis…. has she decided in blind rage that enough is enough and it is time for a total round-up?

Are all these senior leaders of Malaysia’s institutions to be thus sacked and replaced by yes men in order to protect the corruption at 1MDB and Najib?

In which case, the corruption and destruction of the rule of law in Malaysia will have been completed.

Is this worth endorsing by Britain just in the hope of selling some Typhoon Jets Mr Cameron?

ABOUT THOSE JETS

Mr Cameron’s advisors should have told him how little prospect there really is for selling jets to bankrupt Malaysia right now.

Cameron has not been shy to acknowledge that trade is basically what this South East Asia trip has been all about. He wants to come back to Britain boasting of an order sheet and to thumb his nose at Europe, reminding it that Britain looks global not merely local when it comes to trade and contacts.

Good for him, but rightly he has also pointed out that trade should promote honesty, liberty and progress – not corruption.

Malaysia is facing a plunging ringgit and debts it can’t pay thanks to 1MDB and other rampant corruption in high places, which has pillaged the country’s institutions for years – till now much of the looting has been covered up, but now the unravelling has begun there is far worse to find out about.

Just yesterday, Sarawak Report exposed how the purchases of hundreds of millions of US dollars worth of diamonds and precious jewellery for Najib’s wife Rosmah have been financed by none other than the shady billionaire friend of Najib, Jho Low, the man behind all the dodgy dealings at 1MDB. How come?

What is clear is that all this has brought Malaysia economically to its knees.

So, unnecessary jets aren’t really on the agenda, although doubtless Najib will be keen to make polite promises, which he can’t keep on the matter.

Meanwhile, it is dishonest of Britain to make the argument that the combatting of Islamic extremism such as ISIS in the Middle East demands more fighter jets for places like Malaysia.

What will combat extremism is the investment that is needed in better infrastructure and civil projects.

What’s more, the force which has been most promoting extremism in Malaysia over the past several months and years has been Najib’s own secretive funding of ‘NGO’s” like ISMA and Perkasa, which have made it their business to stir up religious fundamentalism and hatred.

Najib’s reason? Pure political cynicism, since it has served his purpose to radicalise PAS thereby breaking up the opposition coalition. This move has succeeded, but at what a price to the peace of Malaysian society and at what risk as fundamentalism spreads its canker.

Britain should not turn a blind eye to Najib’s dangerous games with extremism any more than his corruption.

Malaysia’s defence procurement has been historically riddled with corruption from the Scorpene submarine deals to its aviation purchases and Britain’s embarrassing “arms for aid” brush over the Pergau Dam.

And guess who has been the Defence Minister concerned over most of the years concerned? None other than the current Prime Minister who is so busy sacking everyone right now for criticising corruption at 1MDB.

It was Najib who presided over the vast kickbacks over the French Scorpene deal, which went into an account beneficially owned by his personally appointed “negotiator” Razak Baginda.

And, as all Malaysia knows, it was Najib’s own personal bodyguards who so brutally murdered the girlfriend of Baginda, who was threatening to squeal on that deal if she didn’t get a cut.

Everyone in Malaysia knows about the shocking cover-ups surrounding the Altantuya case, a woman blown into smitherenes by weapons grade C4 explosive by Najib’s bodyguards who are currently facing a death sentence, after a court case where the motive was never explored or explained.

Does Britain want to get into another deal like that one to sell a few more Typhoon Jets, or should Mr Cameron discover pressing developments back home tomorrow and fly straight home instead?

[Reproduced from Sarawak Report for those unable to access the site.]

Clare Rewcastle Brown: "Pissed off rich Malaysian politicians are ruthless"

Clare Rewcastle-Brown. This name ranks high on the Najib administration's list of most despised individuals, given the slew of damaging articles on 1MDB in her website Sarawak Report.

In an interview with Esquire magazine published yesterday, the sister-in-law of former British prime minister Gordon Brown shares what she has learned about Malaysian politicians.

"If you piss off rich Malaysians in positions of political power, they are ruthless and unscrupulous in what they are prepared to do to get their own back.

"I've had PR outfits, lawyers, computer hackers and radio-jamming professionals thrown at me, but they've shot themselves in the foot.

"They've made me into a character I wouldn't have been if they hadn't reacted so angrily and expensively. They created my Wikipedia site, for god's sake," she said.

The 56-year-old mother of two, who was born in Sarawak and spent her early childhood there, denies she is driven by a nefarious agenda, though her detractors appear to be hell-bent on creating such an impression.

"They're always trying to make one out about me, but actually, I'm just a dreadful old do-gooder who's got a bit between my teeth," added the London-based journalist.

Blatant corruption in Malaysia

Quizzed on the issue of corruption, Rewcastle-Brown said the practice is "blatant" in Malaysia.

"You don't have to do that much research to see it. They got lazy and weren't bothering to cover it up.

"They're trying harder now, but you know, there was 30 years of fairly blatant corruption that I just started covering, and I guess nobody else was," she added.

Touching on 1MDB and Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Rewcastle-Brown said the former prime minister is genuinely furious over what has happened.

"The 1MDB debacle is not only a fairly blatant heist on public funds, but also not very well done - and, you know, I think Mahathir is probably annoyed on both fronts," she added with laughter.

She also conceded that investigative journalists live in dread of committing errors with regard to their articles.

"You try to get it right on the big things, but you can often get it wrong on the little things. It's also easier to make mistakes in an environment like Malaysia, where there's so little transparency.

"You're often dealing with little bits of information that you're trying to piece together because you're not getting the information you should. But touch wood, I don't think I've made any clangers so far on the 1MDB story," she said.

No clangers on 1MDB

The key thing, she stressed, is to be honest and not publish something without evidence.

"I think if you've seen something that's a crime, you shouldn't just report it as if you have no opinion of it.

"Also, as an investigative journalist, you don't publish something unless you've caught somebody out doing something naughty; and once you do, you've got a certain amount of licence to give him a hard time.

"That's the job. I'm not trying to be objective, but I'm honest about what I say, and I'm critical where I think it's deserved," she said.

Rewcastle-Brown also spoke about her brother-in-law (right), saying he was one of the reasons she had kept her identity under wraps for a certain period.

"One of the reasons I kept my identity secret for as long as I could was because I didn't want to get him involved, particularly when he was still in office.

"But when he stepped down (as prime minister), I was bolder, and actually, he was really encouraging.

"When I started getting death threats, he said, 'Look, you should just say who you are and what you're doing because that's the best way to deal with them'," she added.

[Cloned from Malaysiakini as a public service.]