The 1MDB issue is no longer about transparency
Salleh Said Keruak
Initially, the criticism against 1MDB was supposed to be because of the lack of transparency in how the organisation is being managed. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak then ordered an investigation into the affairs of 1MDB but still the attacks would not stop.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has launched a road show to carry his message all over Malaysia that Najib has to be ousted because of how 1MDB is being managed and because of the lack of information about what is happening in 1MDB.
Is Dr Mahathir really interested in knowing more about 1MDB or he is just using 1MDB as the excuse to oust Najib? If he wants to know more about 1MDB then why does he not want to wait for the investigation report to be released and decide after he sees the report whether all the allegations are true or not?
When anyone raises the issue about how he managed the country in the 22 years that he was Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir replies that there is no proof of any wrongdoing and he challenges his critics to show proof if there are any. But when he criticises Najib he does not need proof and suspicion alone is proof enough that there are wrongdoings.
First he says RM42 billion disappeared. Then the figure is reduced and then later is reduced yet again. And now he says he did not say that RM42 billion disappeared into thin air and what he said was that 1MDB had borrowed RM42 billion and they must account for what happened to the money.
That is what Najib is trying to do. And that is why he ordered the investigation. But Dr Mahathir is not interested in the investigation. He has already made up his mind that Najib has to go, never mind what the investigation is going to reveal.
