The 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal thickens.
Embattled former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak who was largely silent during the wake of the 1MDB scandal in 2015 has now been more vocal and active on the social media ever since his defeat in the recent general elections.
When he was in power, the only memorable moment when he had came out to explain on the RM2.6 billion found in his personal bank account was when he denied that the monies were stolen from 1MDB, but were donations from Saudi Arabia's royal family.
Following a disastrous interview session with Al Jazeera's Mary Ann Jolley last month on this topic, Najib recently held a Facebook Live session with his followers to clarify himself.
In the November 6 video, Najib maintains that the RM2.6 billion he had received in his personal bank account were donations from the late Saudi King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The funds had been transferred through Saudi's Finance Ministry and King Abdullah's princes. These funds, according to Najib, were legit in that there were letters explaining the funds.
The monies were used to fund Barisan Nasional's political campaign during the 13th general elections and were also channeled to several non governmental organisations.
Najib reiterates that these funds were never used for his own gains and they have all since been returned.
Apparently he had received various other gifts, contributions and allowances from Saudi's monarch as well. All of these were for Najib's efforts in promoting moderate Islam in Malaysia.
Najib adds that the transaction history is with Bank Negara, the banks and his officers who had handled his personal bank account where the funds were found.
“Throughout the handling of the funds I received, no doubts were raised by Bank Negara, or the recipient’s banks, or the officers who had handled my accounts.
“So, I thought everything was in order and nothing questionable had taken place because they didn’t indicate (something was amiss) or raise issue with the source of the funds,” he explains in his Facebook Live video.
He explains that this was the reason why he had said that he did not know the source of the funds when grilled by Mary for Al Jazeera's 101 East programme.Najib said the 1MDB scandal had been blown out of proportion and heavily manipulated by the current Pakatan Harapan government in the run up to the 14th general elections.
His explanation comes following his party, UMNO's mouth piece, Utusan, calling him a liar.
Incidentally, Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Adel Ahmed Al-Jubeir who in 2016 had confirmed that the funds were donations from his country's royal family had recently backtracked.
The same day Najib's interview was aired on Al Jazeera, Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah claimed that Adel in his visit to Malaysia had denied Saudi Arabia's involvement in Malaysia's affairs.
"Today he (Adel) repeated that it (RM2.6 billion) has nothing to do with Saudi Arabia," Saifuddin was reported to have said.
Which narrative is real? Which one is false? Only time will tell.
As for Najib, he has 38 charges under his belt for corruption and money laundering and he will not see his high profile trial telecasted live on Malaysian televisions.
