Is Hadi protecting Najib?

Is the PAS president trying to cleverly insulate Najib at a time when the country is grappling with one of its worst financial scandals that involves the top man?

COMMENT

By Charles Santiago

I thought I had heard it all. But PAS chief, Abdul Hadi Awang, proved me wrong.

His latest joke is the call he made to Wall Street Journal to provide at least four trustworthy witnesses to back its corruption allegations against Prime Minister Najib Razak.

How do we convince him that the Islamic law has got no jurisdiction in this matter?

What would it take for Hadi to finally get it that the newspaper is not bound by shariah law?

I remember an incident, which happened during the Selangor Menteri Besar crisis, where two members from Hadi’s party signed a Statutory Declaration pledging their support for PKR President, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, as the next Menteri Besar.

Angered by their action, Hadi said they were bought over by his opponents.

Did he, by any chance, get testimonies from four witnesses before accusing his party members?

Wall Street Journal claims it’s article is based on reports by Malaysian investigators.

WSJ gave a detailed account of the money trail, alleging the biggest transfers into Najib’s accounts were two deposits of USD620 million and USD61 million in March 2013 during Malaysia’s election campaign, where Najib’s power was hanging by a thread.

The Attorney-General, Abdul Gani Patail, acknowledges having seen the investigation papers that allegedly traces the flow of huge amounts of cash into Najib’s AmBank accounts.

So instead of defying logic, Hadi should have instead asked the Bank Negara Governor, Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, to explain if such a transaction happened as it would certainly not have missed the central bank’s radar.

Hadi, just like any other Malaysian who is interested in seeing justice being served, should have requested AmBank to issue a statement about money flowing into Najib’s accounts, as this is a matter of public interest.

Hadi should have also asked Gani Patail to make the investigation report public as the cash transferred belongs to a sovereign fund, meant for the country’s development.

He should have insisted Najib goes on leave and his bank accounts be frozen until investigations are completed as the Wall Street Journal report directly links him to misappropriation of state funds.

Allegations that Najib has abused his power and position to further his political and financial interests surfaced when the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal broke, months back.

So, Hadi’s statement raises a crucial question: is Hadi really interested in pursuing justice or is he trying to cleverly insulate Najib at a time when the country is grappling with one of its worst financial scandals that involves the top man?

Charles Santiago is the MP for Klang.