Only three ministers dared to voice out against Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Newlyappointed Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull yesterday claimed that he and former MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed had met with several Cabinet ministers to get them to act against Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

This followed findings of an investigation by MACC in 2015 into the issue of a RM2.6 billion donation and RM42 million that was transferred from SRC International Sdn Bhd into Najibs’ personal banking accounts when he was prime minister, Mohd Shukri said.

However, he said only three ministers dared to voice out namely former deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, former Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal and former Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah.

“Although we received threats, we (Mohd Shukri and Abu Kassim) never gave up. I met several ministers and Tan Sri Abu Kassim others (ministers) to convince them that the RM2.6 billion and RM42 million SRC International cases were real and not fabrications.

“We spoke to the ministers, ditch this man, ditch this corrupt man, replace him with someone else if you love the country. Get rid of Najib, replace him with (senior leaders in the Cabinet like) Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi or Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, people of integrity to be prime minister,” he told a press conference at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya, which was broadcast live by several TV stations.

According to Mohd Shukri, his and Abu Kassim’s efforts failed when only these three ministers were brave enough to speak up.

He said when the Barisan Nasional led by Najib lost in the 14th general election on May 9, many of the ministers he had met in 2015 had contacted him to voice their regret in not acting against Najib.

“I told them that I had no selfinterest, I was not asking for money, not asking for posts, I was speaking the truth so that we can put right the situation before it is too late. This 1MDB, this RM2.6 billion is not fake , this is a true story and the case is too big to be protected,” he said.

Mohd Shukri added that after the efforts to convince the ministers did not materialise, they (he and Abu Kassim) had a meeting with the Conference of Malay Rulers for the same (to convince them to act against Najib).

“We took the initiative because we loved the country and met with the Malay rulers, twice we met them and pleaded that they look into this matter, but we were left disappointed,” he said.-Bernama