Kit Siang: Najib pretended for 3 years he didn’t know he was MO1 – Nation

SIBU: DAP adviser, Lim Kit Siang has said that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak should explain to Parliament next week why for three years he pretended that he did not know that “MO1” was a direct reference to him, and why he did not answer the charges levelled against MO1.

Lim, who is here attending a friend’s daughter’s wedding, said on Thursday (Nov 8) that Najib had not been truthful all this while.

“Even in his recent aborted Al Jazeera interview, Najib denied any knowledge that the money which he received came from funds raised by 1MDB.

“He also denied knowing that a multi-million-dollar piece of jewellery presented to his wife was actually bought using proceeds from 1MDB’s bond issues,” he added.

Instead, Lim said, Najib had contended that it was a gift from royalty in the United Arab Emirates and that expensive gifts were common among dignitaries.

“However, the US DoJ filing unsealed last Thursday (Nov 1), referred to a meeting in New York in Sept 2013, where Najib, Rosmah Mansor and Jho Low were present, where a jeweller presented Rosmah with a custom-made 22-carat pink diamond pendant and necklace.

“The jewellery cost US$27.3mil (RM114mil).

“The money came from funds that were raised by Goldman for 1MDB and then diverted into accounts controlled by Low, according to the filings.

“This is a totally different account from that given by Najib in his aborted Al Jazeera interview,” he said.

Najib and Rosmah Mansor are facing a host of criminal charges in Malaysia from corruption, to money laundering and abuse of power in the 1MDB scandal.

From the US DOJ proceedings, it was clear that the 38 charges levelled against Najib only scratched the surface of the 1MDB scandal, Lim said.

“The DoJ charge sheet does not name Najib by person.

“However, the description of the high-ranking ‘Malaysian Official No. 1’ (MO1) that allegedly benefited from the funds diverted from 1MDB fits that of the former Prime Minister, and none other than Najib’s right-hand man, former senior UMNO Minister and BN strategic communications director, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan had openly admitted that MO1 is  none other than Najib,” said Lim.