Amid 1MDB probe, Umno minister says ‘huge’ political funding a Malaysian reality
(Malay Mail Online) – Political parties in Malaysia cannot run effective election campaigns without “huge political donations”, Umno minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said today amid allegations of misappropriation of funds involving Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and state-owned firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Abdul Rahman said political funding is part and parcel of the electoral process here and dates as far back as during the tenure of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad ― currently one of Najib’s harshest critics.
“It is my hope that Tun Dr Mahathir does remember his blog posting, which was published on 13 June 2008, where he admitted that he handed over RM1.4 billion ― in cash and assets ― to the then newly minted UMNO president, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2003,” Abdul Rahman said in a statement.
“It is clear that without huge political donation, there is no way for the opposition parties to run their massive election machinery. Based on this ethos of political funding, BN is familiar too to such pursuit,” he added.
Abdul Rahman claimed that when the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) mooted the idea of a more transparent system of political donations, it was opposition MPs, specifically from DAP, who were against the idea while Najib was the first one to support the notion.
The urban-well being, housing and local government minister claimed that the opposition MPs could not agree to it on grounds that potential donors would shy away from them if their identities were to be made known.
Abdul Rahman accused the opposition, especially DAP leaders Lim Kit Siang and Tony Pua, of being hypocrites in demanding that Najib reveal the sources of political funding for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and its lynchpin party Umno, when they themselves are unwilling to do the same.
“Going along the same argument, why couldn’t Pakatan Rakyat reveal since 2008 the donations they have received from businessmen and individuals in the two richest states they governed ― Penang and Selangor ― in Malaysia?
“Everyone knows that the opposition parties are quite savvy in raising funds for their operations. It is also an open secret that they receive political funding from interested businesses and individuals, not to mention from the traditional but effective fund-raising dinners held almost weekly (if not nightly),” he claimed.
A special taskforce is currently investigating claims that US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) was misappropriated into Najib’s personal bank accounts via 1MDB, allegedly to prop up BN’s campaign in the 13th General Election.
1MDB, which has been described as the prime minister’s brainchild, is also being investigated separately by the Auditor-General’s Department and Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) over its dealings that lead to a reported RM42 billion debt pile.
