If the Swiss don’t go public, all will be swept under US$4b carpet

Zahid unhappy Swiss AG went public on 1MDB probe

Res Ipsa: Quite frankly, the Swiss attorney-general must have been very irritated with the lack of cooperation from his Malaysian counterpart after requesting assistance through formal channels were presumably ignored or brushed aside.

The straw that broke the camel’s back must certainly be the action by AG Mohamed Apandi Ali to clear PM Najib Razak of all wrongdoing when Swiss AG Michael Lauber had some incriminating evidence and wanted the assistance from Apandi to comprehensively complete his investigation papers.

In short, it is the action by Apandi to clear Najib that has resulted in Lauber going to the media.

It is pointless for Zahid to blame the Swiss AG as this situation has arisen due to the action of Apandi in clearing Najib when the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigations into the RM2.6 billion ‘donation’ were yet to be completed.

Apandi must be kicking himself for the premature announcement to instruct MACC to close all investigations on the matter. DPM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should appreciate the background facts before starting to talk about relationship between two nations being strained.

It is not as if the Swiss have done something to breach our sovereignty. All they have asked is for assistance. If the PM is really in the clear and has got nothing to hide, why the fear in providing the information and assistance sought by the Swiss?

By the way, Zahid, do you know how many Malaysians are unhappy with the manner the whole episode of the donation scandal was handled by the Malaysian authorities, especially by the AG?

Please answer this question first about the feelings of your own countrymen before taking on the Swiss AG. Commission a survey and you may find that even a sizable number of your own Umno members feel the same way.

For once, please come out from this state of denial and pretend as if everything is hunky dory at home.

Anonymous #12566075: Zahid, you can express your own opinion but the fact remains that many people, including foreigners, know that the Malaysian authorities often hide ‘dirty linen’ involving top Malaysian politicians.

By making the request in public, at least the Swiss let people know what they are doing. If one has nothing to hide, why are you afraid of public knowing about it?

Wg321: Besides the attorney-general of Switzerland, the attorney-generals of Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, France, and Singapore will come a-calling very soon. Not only that, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will also do the same.

How to cover up the many big holes in the Bugis ship? The Official Secrets Act, the Sedition Act and Sosma (Security Offences [Special Measures] Act) are useless outside Malaysia.

Indeed, former Umno leader Khairuddin Abu Hassan and his lawyer, Matthias Chang, did an excellent job. At last, I shall know what the “units” kept in Singapore are very soon.

Worried Sick: If we do not comply with international laws, there is a possibility that our leaders may face arrests if and when they go for meetings or conferences overseas.

This is something we do not need. I am happy that the DPM has ordered our AG to meet up the Swiss AG to resolve the problem.

Gerard Lourdesamy: Unlike Malaysia where the criminal justice system is opaque at best when the vested interests of the ruling elites are at stake, Switzerland prides itself in having a judicial system that is well-known for its independence, integrity and transparency.

What are the “proper channels” in Malaysia? We are now a country where every institution has been compromised to the extent that any private request from the Swiss would have been scuttled at the earliest opportunity in order to protect Najib.

The Swiss AG was right to make a public announcement given the extent of the alleged fraud or deception perpetrated by the relevant parties using Swiss banks and their financial system.

If 1MDB and Najib have nothing to hide, why the hostility to the Swiss statement?

Alamak!: Indeed, if the Swiss AG had tiptoed around the case and asked for cooperation quietly through ‘diplomatic’ channels, he would have gotten polite diplomatic replies, documents would disappear and the case dismissed for ‘lack of evidence’.

Not that this direct, open approach will guarantee straightforward cooperation from Apandi. He comes from Bolehland, remember, where ‘honour’ is a word of no importance to our leadership.

XED: Zahid should tell the Swiss AG that the world-class Malaysian authorities have found no criminal offence.

And the police chief (IGP) should warn the Swiss AG that he will get Interpol to issue an international arrest warrant against him for hurting the feelings of God-fearing and law-abiding Malaysian leaders and public officers.

Hopeful123: As the saying goes: You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

It is good that the Swiss want this out in the open. At least, we can be confident that our prime minister can be cleared of all accusations once and for all. Malaysia then can move on.

Basically: Hmm, suddenly the very person who wrote a letter to the US courts using the government letterhead asking for the return of a criminal caught red-handed and standing trial, is an expert on diplomatic process.

Lessons learnt perhaps?

Umno can act with impunity, but not outside of M’sia

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