NGOs want PM, MACC chief investigated over Najib charges
Pemantau Malaysia Baru president Lokman Noor Adam and CHARM temporary committee member Hasnah Abdul Rahman at the assembly last night.
(FMT) – Two NGOs have lodged reports against Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Mohd Shukri Abdull for allegedly lying about the charges against Najib Razak.
The reports were lodged by Pemantau Malaysia Baru and the Civil and Human Rights Movement Malaysia (CHARM).
Pemantau Malaysia Baru president Lokman Noor Adam said none of the charges against Najib had anything to do with the 1MDB issue.
Speaking at a peaceful assembly at Sogo, Kuala Lumpur last night, he also claimed that “projects” announced by Mahathir were merely ways to “save money” for his children and cronies.
“The prime minister is asking for Malaysians to spend in moderation, he cancelled projects announced by the former government. But in return, he announced his own projects.
“Is he saving money? The original project value that the former government announced for the East Coast Rail Link was RM55 billion, but the government today announced the project to be RM70 billion. How is he saving money for the country?”
Lokman, who is an Umno Supreme Council member, said the NGOs were also calling on the Election Commission to dissolve Parliament and pave the way for another general election. He claimed the people had been tricked into voting for Pakatan Harapan.
“This is a cruel government,” he said. “How can they freeze 400 accounts that are supposedly linked to 1MDB before they even prove that these account owners are wrong?”
He pointed to MACC’s move to freeze several accounts belonging to Najib’s daughter Nooryana Najwa, one of which he earlier alleged belonged to her 10-month-old son, Adam Razak.
He added that Najib’s other daughter, Puteri Norlisa Razak, had cancer and may need money for treatment.
Lokman said Najib was not responsible for the money deposited into the Umno trust fund, and that MACC should be looking for SRC International Sdn Bhd managing director Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil Nik Othman.
“He was the one who managed that account.
“Unfortunately, we don’t know where he is now. But he is the person who would be able to answer questions linked to the money deposited into the account, not Najib.”
Najib was charged on Wednesday with three counts of criminal breach of trust and a fourth of abuse of power related to the RM42 million from SRC International transferred into his private account. He pleaded not guilty to all four charges.
He was granted bail of RM1 million with RM500,000 paid on Wednesday and the balance to be settled by 3pm next Monday.
A total of 19 days were proposed for the trial next year, in February and March.
However, Lokman called on Attorney-General Tommy Thomas to bring forward the trial, claiming the dates had been set for next year because the prosecution was unprepared.
“They don’t have enough documents to charge Najib,” he said. “If they have enough documents, why not bring the trial date to next week?
“If they can prove that Najib is wrong, they should expedite the court proceedings. Conduct the trial as soon as possible so that we will know if Najib is innocent.”
CHARM, meanwhile, said it would emulate the role of election watchdog Bersih 2.0 in scrutinising the government’s movements in bringing about reform.
“We will be like Bersih and will watch what the government is doing and make sure they keep their promises,” its temporary committee member Hasnah Abdul Rahman said at the assembly.
