UPDATE3 KUALA LUMPUR - A mass crackdown in connection with a high-level corruption probe on Prime Minister Najib Razak appears to have begun with 2 Opposition politicians being the latest to be barred from leaving the country.
DAP MP for PJ Utara Tony and PKR MP for Pandan Rafizi Ramli, two 1MDB's staunchest critics, have informed the press they are on immigration's blacklist and expect to be arrested soon.
"From the first day this matter was spread, I said the allegation is part of an evil conspiracy to silence us - myself Pua, The Edge and Sarawak Report," said Rafizi in a statement.
He was referring to a move by Najib's Umno-BN coalition accusing him, Tony, local business daily The Edge and London-based whistle-blower website Sarawak Report of conspiring and tampering with documents in a bid to overthrow the Prime Minister.
Police have yet to confirm if the two Opposition politicians will be arrested.
However, this morning the Inspector General of Police Khalid Bakar said a video confession by ex-journalist Lester Melanyi implicating the duo was being investigated under Section 124 of the Penal Code for activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy.
Khalid is also part of the special task force formed to probe allegations of high-level corruption by Najib, his family friend Jho Low and their alleged 'vehicle' - the debt-laden national wealth fund 1MDB .
It is not clear if the IGP's action against Rafizi and Tony stems from his role in the task force or if he is acting independently in a bid to help Najib stymie the efforts of the multi-agency panel.
"We see this as part of Najib's efforts to delay and throw confusion into the investigation by the task force. Within the 4 agencies making up the task force, there are some who are clearly being used by Najib to 'run errands' for him. So expect to see more 'cross play' unless the members of the task force themselves put their foot down, and start defining their goals and time line," MP for Batu Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
Pace quickens - mass arrests to begin?
There is undeniable public concern, if not outright cynicism, that the probe will turn out to be a whitewash for Najib, where only small fries from 'his side' will be hauled up while critics, especially from the independent media and the Opposition, will be blamed and punished for trying to overthrow him.
Members of the special task force - Attorney General Gani Patail, Bank Negara governor Zeti Aziz, MACC chief Abu Kassim - independent or stooges?
Political pundits point out Najib is fighting for his political life and can be expected to use all means - fair or foul - to defeat an open campaign led by former premier Mahathir Mohamad to depose him in the wake of the multi-billion dollar 1MDB financial debacle.
Indeed, even before the dust could settle on Jerome Lee, the first 'suspect' to be arrested in connection with the 1MDB probe, another corporate figure - this time a Datuk no less - was detained.
According to The Malaysian Insider, Datuk Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman, the managing director of Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd was picked up yesterday afternoon at The Curve shopping mall in Mutiara Damansara.
He was brought to Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission's headquarters for questioning and then arrested under Section 17 (a) of the MACC Act. A 5-day remand order has been obtained.
Ihsan Perdana was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the firms in the US$11.1 million (RM42 million) money trail that ended in Najib's personal bank accounts between December 2014 and February this year.
Najib stands accused of diverting US$700 million or RM2.6 billion of 1MDB money into his AmBank accounts. The PM has denied using the money for personal gain but has not denied the funds flow into his accounts at AmBank, two of which have since been closed.
Mystery man
Meanwhile, mystery continues to shrouds Jerome Lee, the first to be arrested as the probe into Najib, Jho Low and 1MDB gathers steam.
While it may be easy to see why the task force would want to question Shamsul because of his position as Ihsan Perdana's managing director, Jerome's role is less clear.
The 39-year-old Jerome was arrested at the airport on Monday. He was stopped by immigration officers as he was about to leave for Taiwan, and handed over to the MACC.
Various media have reported unnamed sources as saying he was director in a company linked to Finance Ministry unit SRC International, and was detained to aid in the Najib's corruption probe.
Diagram detailing the money flow
SRC is also named in the WSJ money trail. Based on documents that WSJ said were sourced from Malaysian investigators, the trail began with RM50 million in SRC International, which was moved to another company Gandingan Mentari, and then onto Ihsan Perdana.
From Ihsan Perdana, RM42 million was allegedly transferred to Najib's accounts at AmBank..
According to the pro-Najib daily, the New Straits Times, Jerome was a also former 1MDB employee.
However, Jerome's lawyer Shafee Abdullah, a well-known legal eagle who often acts for Najib's Umno party and for Najib himself, has insisted the arrest had nothing to do with the debt-laden 1MDB.
"This man is one of the directors of Putrajaya Perdana which has no relationship with 1MDB," Shafee said.
'Turf wars'?
Whether Shafee was lying or not, the mystery and the lack of transparency and information over Jerome's arrest and now Shamsul's have triggered red-hot speculation.
Construction company director Jerome Lee was remanded by a Putrajaya magistrate's court. According to the New Straits Times, the remanded man was a former 1MDB employee. Other news reports cited sources as saying he was involved with SRC International, once a 1MDB subsidiary.PHOTO: UTUSAN MALAYSIA
Some believed Jerome was arrested as a 'smoke-screen' by the Attorney General Gani Patail to show that the special task force was serious in its investigation into the 1MDB, Najib corruption allegations.
Others believed the arrest was a 'prelude' to a mass crackdown on those who had exposed 1MDB shenanigans so as to show the much-criticized task force was fair in its duties.
"There is obviously a sort of turf war going on even in the task force itself. Najib's side appears keen to deny the arrest is linked to 1MDB while the MACC and Gani are mysteriously quiet," a political source told Malaysia Chronicle.
"Some say Gani is taking courage from Dr Mahathir and is doing what he should be doing by rounding up Jho Low's boys and all the 1MDB culprits. On the other hand, Najib's side is taking revenge by using the IGP to round up the whistle-blowers like The Edge's Ho Kay Tat."
Najib fighting a losing battle for political survival?
The Prime Minister has been facing growing calls to resign led by his influential predecessor, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Najib has accused Dr Mahathir - who was Malaysia's leader for 22 years until 2003 - of conspiring with foreign media in a "political sabotage" to topple him via undemocratic means.
Datuk Shamsul Anwar Sulaiman, the managing director of Ihsan Perdana Sdn Bhd, seen at the magistrate’s court in Putrajaya today. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari
In what critics claim was a bid to delay and befuddle the corruption probe, the Prime Minister and allies in his ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition have in recent weeks fought back.
They have accused the likes of London-based website Sarawak Report of forging documents to raise criminal allegations against Najib and 1MDB. The website was blocked on Sunday.
Fearing a similar gag, local business paper, The Edge Financial Daily front-paged an expose on Monday on how 'Jho Low & PetroSaudi schemed to cheat Malaysia of US$1.83 billion through 1MDB'.
Ho Kay Tat, the CEO of The Edge Media Group, has handed over documents related to the controversial article to the police and Bank Negara.
“I also gave a statement to the CCID (Commercial Crime Investi-gation Department),” said Kay Tat in an editorial published on Tuesday.
“We would like to repeat what we have said before and that is we stand by all articles we have published on Jho Low and 1MDB."
Lack of transparency has eroded public confidence
So far, there has been no announcement from Gani or the task force he leads and comprising the chiefs of MACC, Bank Negara and the police to confirm or deny the arrest was related to the 1MDB-Najib probe.
Indeed the formation of the task force is itself steeped in controversy with no official announcement of its scope of investigation nor time line for completion. Many have dismissed the probe as a whitewash for Najib.
The investigation is expected to be concluded by the end of the year but Gani is due to retire next month. Coincidentally, Shafee is the lawyer touted to be the most likely to be picked by Najib to replace Gani.
In a response to news of the arrest, 1MDB appeared to back Shafee, claiming that none of its employees were under remand although it did not mention if Jerome was a former employee.
"1MDB reiterates our commitment to fully cooperate with all lawful authorities that are currently investigating 1MDB," the scandal-plagued fund said in a statement.
The Finance Ministry-owned 1MDB has racked up RM42 billion in debt in its first five years of operations, triggering fears it might jeopardize the country's economic momentum as well as calls to investigate what appears to be a slew of dubious deals..
According to an explosive article from the Wall Street Journal dated July 3 article, millions from SRC International eventually ended up in Najib's personal accounts.
Najib has denied ever using state funds for "personal gains" but has not confirmed or denied if he received the money. - Malaysia Chronicle
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