Ex-Malacca CM suggests Najib step down temporarily

Former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Chik says Datuk Seri Najib Razak should let go of his position as prime minister for the time being. – Facebook pic, July 5, 2015.

Former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Chik suggested that Datuk Seri Najib Razak should step down temporarily as prime minister while investigations are being carried out on claims 1Malaysia Development Bhd's funds were pumped into his personal bank accounts.‎

He also said the prime minister's accounts should also be investigated, if Bank Negara and AmBank confirmed their existence.

"Maybe when the investigation is under way, Najib should let go of his position as prime minister for the time being, until he is cleared by the investigation," Rahim said in a Facebook post yesterday.‎

But he said if the accounts did not exist, legal action should be taken against Wall Street Journal, Sarawak Report and other parties which collaborated with them for "making these super bad accusations".‎

In a following Facebook post, Rahim recalled how he had stepped down as Malacca chief minister and Umno Youth chief when he was under investigation.

"After the investigations were complete and cleared my name‎, I continued as Umno Youth chief, but was tricked by (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim into resigning as Malacca chief minister."

Rahim was the Malacca chief minister from 1982 to 1994. He was charged in 1994, with statutory rape of a minor, but charge was later withdrawn due to a lack of evidence.

On Thursday, business daily WSJ said investigations into the debt-ridden 1MDB had allegedly uncovered billions of ringgit channelled into Najib's personal accounts.

In their reports, both WSJ and whistle-blower site Sarawak Report had quoted documents from the 1MDB probe by the Malaysian government, with Sarawak Report claiming that the Attorney-General was also aware of the information.

The documents allegedly showed US$700 million (RM2.67 billion) was moved among government agencies, banks and entities linked to 1MDB, which finally ended in the prime minister's personal accounts at the AmPrivate Bank in Kuala Lumpur, in five separate deposits.

WSJ said the largest transactions were deposits of US$620 million and another one for US$61 million between March 2013 and February this year. The first transaction was done two months before the 13th general election.

Sarawak Report said RM42 million had gone into Najib's accounts from SRC International Sdn Bhd, the Finance Ministry-owned company which had taken a RM4 billion loan from the Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP).

The latest transaction, the reports said, was in February this year. The documents show that SRC International had transferred RM10 million into an account under the name of “Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Bin Hj Abd Razak” at the AmPrivate Bank.

Najib has blamed the WSJ report on former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had become Najib's fiercest critic in recent months.

In a post in his Facebook page on Friday, Najib said the attacks began when he refused to implement Dr Mahathir’s personal demands, adding that Dr Mahathir then “created a crisis” by recklessly claiming that RM42 million was missing from 1MDB.

"I believe Tun, working hand in glove with foreign nationals, including the now discredited political attack blog Sarawak Report, is behind this latest lie,” he said.

He denied the report, which claimed that some US$700 million of 1MDB funds were transferred into his personal account before GE13.

This is the first time Najib has been directly linked to 1MDB's woes, as the company sits on a RM42 billion debt. He is also chairman of its advisory board.

- TMI