Ka-Ching! Najib says Harapan Coin stinks

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has demanded that Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad reveal who will profit from the planned Harapan Coin cryptocurrency project.

Based on a video on the Harapan Coin website, Najib cited Khalid saying that 30 percent of the proceeds from the project will be handed to the developer, followed by 30 percent to Khalid’s party Amanah and finally 40 percent to the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

In view that the website had stated that this new crypto-currency can be eventually used for government transactions, Najib said the public deserves to know who will ultimately benefit from the project.

“I am asking again: What is the agenda behind Harapan Coin? Who will benefit? I want Khalid to reveal who is behind the project. Name each of them.

“Don’t take advantage of the rakyat. I will fight!” wrote Najib on his Twitter account.

Khalid said yesterday that the Harapan Coin proposal will be submitted to Bank Negara and the prime minister soon. Khalid is the co-founder of the project.

The Harapan Coin website was registered in December last year. Like most initial coin offering websites, it offers a “white paper” to state its objectives, which in this case is to raise funds for Harapan ahead of the 14th general elections.

Prominent tech and information security blogger Keith Rozario remarked yesterday that the “white paper” was “terribly light on details”.

“If it were written by college students I’d still fail them. So we have a coin that’s making bullshit claims, and light on details. This sounds like a scam,” he wrote on his Twitter page.

There are many reports by established news organisations on how the majority of ICOs (initial coin offerings) fail within the first few months – reaping huge profits for a few and losses for most.

Since 2017, China has banned all forms of ICO.

ICO is an unregulated means by which funds are raised for a new cryptocurrency venture.