The root cause of problems is the introduction of conflict of interest
The notion put forward by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak that 1MDB had failed because of critics is laughable, says Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua.
Pua said this in response to a televised interview Najib gave yesterday, saying 1MDB had failed because of attacks on an initial public offering (IPO) for Edra Global Energy."If we critics are so powerful, then we would have stopped so many other IPOs and related transactions, such as Felda Global Ventures Holdings or other privatisation and fund-raising projects by the BN administration," he said in a statement today.1MDB would have "the worst business model in the world" if its success or failure depended entirely on an IPO for its subsidiary."If 1MDB's business collapsed just because of a failed IPO, that was probably the reason why the IPO failed in the first place," Pua added.According to the DAP lawmaker, the real reason the Edra IPO failed was because the government had overpaid for the energy assets under Edra.The Public Accounts Committee report, he said, showed that Edra was valued at between RM9.86 billion and RM11.3 billion only, short of the RM12.1 billion spent on assets."Hence the IPO failed because 1MDB was unable to justify the ridiculous valuation paid for its energy assets, but Datuk Seri Najib chose to conveniently blame the scandal-ridden firm's critics," he added.Pua then slammed Najib for blaming critics, instead of addressing 1MDB's weaknesses as highlighted by the PAC report, and also for not telling the public how he plans to bail out the indebted firm that is now defaulting on its loans.Najib has made a fool of himself by going on air and telling Malaysians that the failure of 1MDB is because of critics and the aborted IPO for Edra Global Energy.
He can only fool a small group of the kampung folks. He has no way out but to give excuses after excuses just to remain in power.
It’s not every day that one gets the likes of Mahathir, Lim Kit Siang , Mohamad Sabu and Nurulbatting for the same side. Just because these eminences, among others, are fighting to save their beloved nation by demanding justice does not mean that their case is an invalid one
that it puts ‘society’ under threat the word ‘anarchy’ having been bandied about in court it being treated as a crime, criminalised simply because the law says so. It’s high time our lawmakers decriminalise defamation.
A Malaysian student in Australia has some money (US$3.4 million) transferred into her account by an unknown "donor" and she spent it on luxury goods. She was caught and charged with dishonest conduct
that Najib should know about the money his own bank account. His claim of ignorance is not a viable or valid defence
can Singapore be smarter than our AG? Cannot be! Our AG was a judge of the highest court in Malaysia. He is a learned man. This kind evidence surely would not escape him
When Apandi cleared Najib of all wrongdoings, it is eerily calm and serene in Malaysia. When 1MDB lost RM48.7 billion, and no one is under investigations in Malaysia, it is surreal.
AAP’s recent allegations on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s not having a bachelor’s and master’s degree as claimed, and the subsequent release of copies of his degree certificates from the government reminds one of a similar conspiracy theory. Since the start of his presidential campaign in 2008, Barack Obama faced allegations that he isn’t a natural-born US citizen and consequently, ineligible to be US President.
Soon, several fringe conservative groups demanded Obama show his birth certificate to clear the air. Obama’s campaign staff released his birth certificate, obtained from the Hawaii State Department of Health. Hawaiian government officials also confirmed that the birth certificate was indeed correct. One would have expected the controversy to die, right?
However, it didn’t. Opponents cried a conspiracy, despite verification through independent media checks. Belief in such conspiracy theories persisted, despite the pre-election release of Obama’s official Hawaiian birth certificate; confirmation, based on the original documents, by the Hawaii Department of Health; the April 2011 release of a certified copy of Obama’s original Certificate of Live Birth (or long-form certificate); and contemporaneous birth announcements published in Hawaii newspapers.
Coming back home, things are not too different. AAP, a party with claims to high virtue, is now notorious for spreading rumours. Modi’s humble ‘chaiwallah’ background makes it easy to feed the stereotype.
Elitists and Modi-haters would love to believe there is no way such a person can have a postgraduate degree (similar to Obama haters who love to believe a coloured man is not American). The fact that the PM’s degrees in question were issued over four decades ago, when electronic records did not exist, makes it easier to increase the confusion.
The rumour snowballed and AAP leaders achieved what they love most – to be head to head with the PM. In such times, it becomes difficult for the PMO to choose a course of action. To react to every rumour comes across as defensive, and also adds credence to the person making the allegation when none may be due. However, if the rumour snowballs, it becomes difficult to ignore it.
Obama faced the same problem, as the rumour about his birth failed to die even after he assumed office. Finally, in what was a truly classy act, Obama played his ‘birth video’ at the White House Correspondents’ dinner, a clip of Simba being born in Africa from the animated film Lion King. Using humour he demolished the baseless arguments at one go, where almost nothing else would have worked.
Back home our NDA government reacted with a press conference, held by none other than the finance minister and BJP party president. Frankly, it was overkill. It gave AAP the satisfaction of getting a reaction from the top. Using humour could have worked better. For instance, the PM presenting his nursery report card along with his degrees at a conference might have shut up the conspiracy theorists.
Of course, that hasn’t happened yet. As soon as the degrees were released, AAP leaders called them fake. AAP, however, carried out no checks to confirm that the degrees were indeed fabricated. A sitting PM faking a degree certificate just because someone came up with allegations is a bit of a stretch. Why would any PM take such a massive risk?
However, conspiracy theories are rarely about logic or truth. Like trolling on the internet, they are about attacking someone. The best attacks, in fact, have only a tiny degree of plausibility, but are quite difficult for the person attacked to prove otherwise.
For instance, you could allege BJP is paying me for this article. In reality, no politician has ever offered me money for anything (maybe i am quite useless). However, how do i prove it? How do i demonstrate that my views on AAP’s degree stunt are what i truly feel? I can’t, right? Hence, i am open to attacks (and will be on social media, after this article).
Or take another one, about Sonia Gandhi having Italian mafia contacts. Completely unproven, but she does have Italian roots. Let’s slap on the muck. Proving something is no longer important before attacking anyone. A tiny degree of plausibility is all it takes.
Even if the PM were to produce more evidence on his degrees, AAP will continue to attack it. After all he is the PM, can’t he direct a printing press to print whatever he wants? Can’t he tell all university staff to say what he wants? This looniness will never end.
However, there is a lesson in this for all of us. We citizens, and the media, have to be careful on what story we give credence. If we waste our time on loony theories we are ignoring 1.3 billion people of this country, who have real-life problems.
There’s a lesson for AAP (and their fans) as well. As a well-wisher of theirs (i am a well-wisher of every party), they need to revisit their PR strategy. To become popular is important, but to do it at the cost of losing credibility is not worth it. Hence, one word of advice on casting aspersions on the PM’s degree for AAP: Stop. It’s hurting you more than you think.
Oh, and did you know PM Modi is an alien? He can’t prove that he is not. You disagree? Such a bhakt you are!
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