MALAYSIAN Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) should not practise double standards with regard to Datuk Rohana Rozhan, who was an abetting party to the crime involving the IMDB scandal.
She was not a semi-literate ordinary person but the CEO of Astro Malaysia Holdings and should have been more insightful and careful about continuing the long relationship despite Tim Leissner’s involvement in the scandal.
She did not reveal the US$10 mil property voluntarily, but it was exposed by Tim Leissner under cross-examination in court. If she had voluntarily decided to reveal it when the 1MDB trial was ongoing or before Leissner’s expose, her involvement in the crime could have been mitigated.
Rozana kept it secret and thought it might not be found out until Tim Leissner was grilled by the prosecution.
In fact, she, despite knowing the harm the embezzlement was doing to the country, just wanted to benefit from it and had no moral compunction in doing so like many others involved in this scandal.
The MACC has prosecuted or filed charges against a host of people even faintly or remotely involved in the 1MDB scandal and even confiscated their property.
Rohana, according to Leissner’s testimony, had been blackmailed or threatened to expose Tim Lessner’s fraudulent dealings, and this was the reason why she landed with a US$10 mil property in London.
The fact that she blackmailed Tim Lessner is good enough evidence that she knew of the conspiracy and shady deals going on to defraud the country and his criminal role in it.
The way the proceeds from the sale of her property have been transferred back to the Malaysian government has raised some doubts about the entire administrative system. When did she pay back the 10 million dollars to the government?
Even the present Law and Institutional Reforms Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Said did not know of this until Utusan Malaysia Online broke the story.
Is the story true or false? Why was it kept a secret?
Only now, after questions were posed, are all these disclosures being made. There are reports in the media even when a small portion of the IMDB proceeds is returned to the country.
Why was this not made public when the payment was made? Did the authorities think that this episode would be forgotten by the Malaysian public?
It appears that many things are not right involving the MACC, the Attorney General Chamber, the Finance Ministry and the Home Ministry in this episode.
When did she pay back the US$10 mil to the government?
The authorities are quick to act against former prime ministers and politicians but slow to act or unwilling to act against corporate or elitist figures. This gives credence to the prevalent belief of selective prosecution against leaders and politicians.
The authorities must be fair to all when it comes to prosecution against perceived offenders and wrongdoers.
Rohana, through her close association with Leissner, knows much about the 1MDB scandal and can provide crucial evidence, possibly more than what Leissner testified about in the US Federal Court last year.
Perhaps she can provide a lot of information and evidence that has hitherto been hidden. Blackmailing a person who is committing a crime is an offence and is equal to criminal intimidation, and there is a good case against her.
The nation would like to hear her side of the story concerning the 1MDB case. The fact that she returned the ill-gotten gains does not diminish the crime but may be considered an issue for mitigation by the court.
If she had exposed the the 1MDB fraud earlier, possibly the nation, which had given so much to her by way of a plum corporate position, could have been spared a major and tragic financial loss. — March 26, 2023
V. Thomas is a Focus Malaysia viewer.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
