Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim threatens to pull plug on MoU following government’s ‘shocking’ move
KUALA LUMPUR : The government’s move to consider Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s request for a special privilege in the form of a RM100 million home has forced the opposition to reconsider its cooperation with the federal administration, said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
In a statement on Thursday (Nov 18), the opposition leader said that he is “shocked” by the finance minister’s revelation that cabinet had received an application to award the convicted former prime minister with a parcel of land and a house, estimated to be worth the astronomical amount.
Anwar hinted that this puts the opposition’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government in jeopardy, as Pakatan Harapan (PH) was not informed of the matter in any meeting with government officials.
“This matter was never discussed or informed to us in any meeting with representatives from the government,” he said.
This very shocking result forces us to reconsider all forms of understanding (with the government) that presently exist.”
Anwar issued the statement after pandemonium erupted in Parliament today after Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz confirmed the government had received the application for the house, following former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s query on the matter.
In the written statement, Anwar reminded the people over the transgressions made by Najib while he was prime minister, which led to the government and Malaysians having to bear a debt of RM32 billion as a result of corruption and misappropriation brought on by the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
In July last year, Najib was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million after being found guilty of all seven charges related to the misappropriation of RM42 million of SRC International funds.
Najib also faces a slew of other charges related to 1MDB, including 21 counts of receiving, using or sending illicit funds, as well as four counts of corruption involving US$681 million (RM2.8 billion) that appeared in his personal bank accounts, among others.
In September, the opposition and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob inked an MoU on a slew of political reforms, which include bipartisan cooperation.
However, the revelation today has risked putting the historic agreement in shambles, Anwar indicated.
Meanwhile, Anwar noted the government’s move to consider Najib’s request comes at a time when the people are being faced with harsh realities brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Even to this day, he (Najib) cannot explain how he and his wife are in possession of money and jewellery estimated to be worth hundreds of millions,” Anwar said.
“At a time when the people are suffering, contract doctors face an unclear fate, B50 children face challenges and obstacles for learning, and so many Malaysians are losing their incomes, homes, and even lives, the cabinet’s action to ‘gift’ land and a house to a person who has been convicted by a court would be the most immoral and utterly absurd decision.”
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