Dangerous twist to 1MDB saga, says Kadir Jasin after Umno man’s police report
(TMI) – “Harsh words” and “frightening warnings” such as “somebody is going to jail” were said during the meeting, with a source revealing that Lodin even offered to resign in the meeting with Zeti.
Veteran newsman Datuk A. Kadir Jasin has weighed in on the report lodged against 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) by an Umno leader, saying the scandal has now taken on a “sensational and potentially dangerous twist”.
He was commenting on the police report lodged by Penang’s Umno Batu Kawan division leader Datuk Khairuddin Abu Hassan against 1MDB over the alleged mismanagement of its finances.
“The police report is the culmination of weeks of controversies surrounding the so-called sovereign fund,” Kadir, the former editor-in-chief of New Straits Times, said in a blog posting today.
Earlier, DAP lawmaker Tony Pua had said that the fact that Khairuddin had lodged a report against his own party leaders, including Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is 1MDB chairman, was proof that the company’s finances were in shambles.
1MDB had responded to the police report, saying that it was confident it would have no legal basis.
“We welcome any investigation into our affairs and the opportunity to rebut malicious allegations,” it had said in a statement last night.
Kadir today revealed that prior to the report being lodged, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad – one of 1MDB’s fiercest critics – had met up with the sovereign wealth fund’s top management and “grilled” them on the company’s modus operandi.
“On December 4, the company’s top-level delegation, led by its Chairman, (Tan Sri) Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, was said to have been grilled by Dr Mahathir.
“He is said to be curious about the way the company funds its businesses, bearing in mind that it has a paid-up capital of only US$1 million (about RM3.4 million),” Kadir added.
He said that the 1MDB people were also asked about the price of two pieces of land in Penang for which the company was said to have paid way over the market price – 1MDB bought the land for about RM1.4 billion from two Chinese tycoons last year.
“The source said Dr Mahathir feels obliged to take up the matter with 1MDB and to speak openly on the subject because many parties had come to see him to inform him about the goings-on in the company.
“He was disappointed that issues surrounding 1MDB was not seriously discussed by delegates at last month’s Umno General Assembly.
“How could they when the Umno president and prime minister is the man behind 1MDB and resolutions on the economy were drafted for the debaters?” Kadir wrote.
His blog: http://kadirjasin.blogspot.com/2014/12/umno-leader-lodges-police-report.html
