KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — The multibillion-dollar corruption scandal involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is an acid test for political parties that are for or against corruption in the country, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said today.
The Iskandar Puteri lawmaker said that it is a national tragedy that the Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah should be reminding Malaysians not to be in denial and not to perform “mental acrobatics to deny the existence of the corruption ‘elephant’ that is vividly happening in front of our eyes”.
"It shows how corruption has become a major problem in Malaysia,” he said in a statement this morning.
Lim then mocked Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for chiding former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former attorney general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas while having difficulty condemning the RM50 billion 1MDB corruption scandal.
"Why is this so?
"The Umno President has said that Umno is prepared to ‘wade in flood waters’ in the 15th General Election, but why is he unable to condemn the 1MDB scandal? Is Umno ‘wading in flood waters’ to defend corruption?” he added.
Lim said that there is no need to ask Umno allies in Barisan Nasional (BN), particularly MIC and MCA about condemning corruption as the two political parties will never stand up against it.
Yesterday, Sultan Nazrin said corruption is one of the causes for the people being denied service delivery access, uneven distribution of wealth and leakages of the nation’s resources.
During the launching of a book titled Corruption and Hypocrisy in Malay Muslim Politics by Tan Sri Mohd Kamal Hassan, Sultan Nazrin said that corruption has also resulted in unsustainable development and environmental pollution, identifying it as one of the leading causes of economic stagnation, loss of foreign investor interest and confidence, increase in administrative and business costs and contributed to political instability.
