VETERAN lawmaker Lim Kit Siang has reiterated that his media statements reflect his personal political views and has nothing to do with the DAP leadership as he has retired from competitive politics and are no more in the political front line.
“I can understand the horror of some Malaysians when I said I was prepared to work with [Datuk Seri] Najib Razak for the good of the country and not for a portion of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) riches,” he said.
In a blog post on Monday (July 18), the DAP stalwart said that he is willing to work with Najib if the former prime minister condemns the 1MDB scandal and is willing to declare his stand against Malaysia becoming a kleptocracy.
The Iskandar Puteri MP said he could understand the responses by Malaysians who regard Najib as the “embodiment of evil”, who had brought Malaysia infamy.
“But the ‘Malu apa bossku’ phenomenon is proof that many Malaysians still place Najib on a pedestal despite the 1MDB scandal,” Lim lamented.
“If we can make those Malaysians realise that corruption and the 1MDB financial scandal are crimes against the country and Malaysians and if we can get Najib to personally condemn the 1MDB scandal as corruption and a crime against Malaysia, it is a worthwhile effort indeed.”
In the same blog post, Lim said that every person has good and bad impulses and the judgement of human character is whether the good impulses overwhelm the bad impulses, as every person is capable of change for the better.
He further noted that the confirmation from the Attorney General’s Chambers that fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho – better known as Jho Low – had attempted to reach a settlement with the Government over 1MDB charges with an RM1.5 bil offer is evidence that the scandal exists.
On the settlement, Lim said that Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz had told Parliament in March that 1MDB’s debts amount to RM32.3 bil in principal and RM6.5 bil in interest.
He added that Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said recently that the total assets forfeited last year were RM5.1 bil, with 99.57% of it linked to 1MDB.
“As such Jho Low’s RM1.5 bil offer to settle is most laughable as his offer is less than 4% of the 1MDB principal and interest,” Lim noted. – July 20, 2022
