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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Malaysia’s PM to put 1MDB scandal behind him

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In a room packed with Malaysian civil servants, Foreign Ministry Secretary General Ramlan Ibrahim raised his right hand as he read out an anti-corruption pledge. He was among thousands of state officials nationwide to take such an oath in the past several weeks, part of an anti-graft campaign called by Prime Minister Najib Razak.


“The citizens are becoming more informed, they ask for public service which is more efficient, transparent and fair,” Ramlan said after the event in Putrajaya, the administrative capital.


The campaign comes as Najib prepares to meet US President Donald Trump this week, where the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are pursuing investigations into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a state fund the prime minister oversaw.


Najib must also call a general election by mid-2018 although some commentators have suggested he could do so this year itself.


The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has arrested dozens of top officials under the anti-graft campaign, including officers at national oil company Petronas and state-controlled palm oil firm Felda.


More than 600 arrests were made just this year, MACC data showed.


The actions are unusual in the Southeast Asian country, where corruption is seen as widespread.


Four out of five Malaysians aged 18-35 cited corruption as the most serious issue facing the country, according to a survey released last month by the Global Shapers Community, a programme under the World Economic Forum.


But critics say the campaign ignores the elephant in the room: 1MDB.


The state fund is being investigated in at least six countries for money-laundering and misappropriation of funds, including an alleged $681 million transfer into the prime minister’s personal account.


Malaysia’s attorney-general closed the 1MDB probe in January 2016, and cleared Najib of any wrongdoing.


The US Justice Department has sought to seize about $1.7 billion in assets allegedly bought with stolen 1MDB funds.


Its lawsuits say those involved included Najib’s step-son Riza Aziz and his close associate Jho Low.


In court filings, the FBI, which is conducting a criminal investigation, alleged that potential witnesses in the case fear for their safety and need protection.


But investigations into 1MDB in Malaysia appear to have shut down.


MACC had “a roomful” of files on 1MDB, a former MACC official told Reuters, but the commission could not pursue it once Malaysia’s attorney-general declared the case closed.


“In a way, this campaign is the MACC trying to show that it is doing its job. Even if they cannot secure a conviction (against their targets), the MACC can show that it has done all it could to stamp out major corruption,” said the former official, who declined to be identified.


Cynthia Gabriel, Director of the Kuala Lumpur-based Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4), said there was “enough substance” for MACC to reopen the case on 1MDB.


MACC declined to comment on whether the commission would reopen its 1MDB investigation.


“No comment on that, we are very fair in investigating anybody here, whoever they are,” deputy chief commissioner Azam Baki told reporters in Putrajaya.


Anti-corruption campaigners say they fear Trump’s invitation to Najib to visit the United States may affect the investigations in the United States.


“Territorial influence and geopolitical interests of the United States appears to have hollowed out its commitment to fight international corruption, much to the detriment of the future of Malaysia and the world,” Gabriel said.


US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Trump’s invitation was “particularly inappropriate”, given Najib’s use of repressive laws to stifle critics.


“There’s little doubt that Najib will use this White House visit to burnish his credentials going into next year’s election in Malaysia, and redouble his repression of critics using the stamp of approval from this visit,” HRW’s deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said. — Reuters


Rozanna Latiff and Emily Chow


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