Shahbudin: Simple Yes, No from Najib would do

“If Najib was sitting for an examination, he would fail for not answering the questions as set.”

KUALA LUMPUR: A political analyst, taking to his blog after a sleepless night and while waiting for the pre-fasting prayers and meal, thinks that it’s not the done thing for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to keep repeating that he had never taken 1MDB monies for his personal use, that he will never betray the people and the like.

“He also said that if he wanted to steal money, government or otherwise, he would not keep it in his personal account in Malaysia. That would be really stupid, he said.”

“If Najib was sitting for an examination, he would fail for not answering the questions as set.”

The short and long of it, said Shahbudin Husin, was whether Najib has or had personal bank accounts with AmBank private banking services; and whether USD700 million entered these accounts.

No one, he reminded, asked him for what purpose he put this money to use, whether personal or other uses. “No one asked him either whether he would be stupid enough to steal government or other money and put them in his personal bank account in Malaysia.”

The people, he said, need to be satisfied on the allegations in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report last Friday and they are waiting for answers from Najib.

Najib’s oft-repeated statements follow allegations in the WSJ that USD700 million entered his personal banking accounts with AmBank private banking services before the last General Election in May 2013.

Shahbudin reminded that it has been exactly a week since the WSJ report first appeared and Najib has been nothing but a story of repetition on the same line that he had taken since last Friday. “Is it surprising therefore that former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad publicly asked Najib to show his bank account books. Mahathir’s argument is that if it was difficult to give a simple Yes or No answer, then show the books.”

He noted that some critics had hit back at Mahathir and reminded him that he never showed his bank books to the public. Others, in his defence, pointed out that the occasion never arose and in any case no one asked him to show his bank books.

Najib, reiterated the analyst, was not answering the questions that he had been asked: “Does he or did he have bank accounts with AmBank? Did USD700 million enter these accounts? The answers should be either Yes or No or both. If the mouth and the tongue are not willing, let the bank books speak for themselves.”

“He has not answered these questions,” said Shahbudin. “Instead, he keeps giving answers to questions which have not been asked about personal use of the money and whether he would betray the people.”