YESTERDAY, former Astro CEO Datuk Rohana Rozhan was reported to have said that she had agreed to return the US$10 mil in assets she received from former Goldman Sachs Southeast Asia operations chief Tim Leissner.
Malay daily, Utusan Malaysia quoted sources as saying that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is in the midst of acquiring the funds after Rohana had agreed to hand over them, allegedly from the scandal-ridden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
“The process of obtaining the assets is actively being carried out by the MACC at this time,” added the source.
However, netizens were aghast at the perceived leniency offered to Rohana while petty criminals get hauled up by the authorities in no time.
User Ash Shafie said:
(If a commoner has stolen a packet of milk or a can of sardine for his starving children, they get punished immediately. I have never heard of them getting lenient treatment after returning the milk and sardine…elite vs commoner)
Echoing his sentiments, user Happy Fish Chin added:
(You steal sardines, get jail time. However, if you steal millions, we can negotiate. Malaysia Boleh)
Netizen Mohd Yusof retorted:
(For the elites, they can keep their ill-gotten gains as long as they don’t get caught. If you get caught, just smile away and say you will return the loot)
During the trial of ex-banker Roger Ng in the US, Leissner told the court that he had an affair with Rohana for nearly a decade.
Following a fallout, Leissner said that Rohana had threatened to expose the former’s role in the 1MDB scandal if he did not give her US$10 mil- with US$7 mil of it used to purchase a property in Montpelier Street, London.
“If I didn’t buy her a house, she would tell authorities about my involvement in the 1MDB scandal. She had threatened to expose me. At the time, in 2013, I was very fearful of that,” he testified back then.
“Lenient laws”
On April 8, Ng was convicted by a US jury on corruption charges in relation to his role in stealing hundreds of millions from 1MDB.
On that note, user Muhammad Fadzli jested that Rohana was in the know the Malaysian law was “tolerant”, which may have prompted her to return the funds.
(Rohana thinks she will not be punished after returning the assets. Of course, our laws are quite tolerant)
Netizen Edy Sahadi remarked:
(Between two social classes…and that is how Malaysian laws get ruined) – April 14, 2022
