Umno Supreme Council member Shabery Cheek has questioned the silence of those who called themselves “anti-kleptocrats” over the 1MDB-linked funds held by a company belonging to the husband of former Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
Shabery said law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had since responded to a question by Baling MP Abdul Azeez Rahim in Parliament yesterday that the government found out only in 2019 that money linked to 1MDB was being held in an account owned by Zeti’s husband, Tawfiq Ayman.
“The Perikatan Nasional prime minister must surely have known about it,” the former minister said in a Facebook post today.
“There are many issues out there now that need a clearer explanation. Was there much information deliberately hidden?”
He congratulated Subang MP Wong Chen for speaking up. “Hopefully the 4th, 7th and 8th prime ministers as well as the MPs for Gelang Patah, Bagan and Port Dickson will not take too long (to speak up).
“Bersih can even go to the streets when the situation permits,” he said.
On Friday, MACC said it had managed to recover assets and funds linked to 1MDB amounting to RM20.5 billion to date.
The sum included the return of assets amounting to US$15.4 million (RM64.4 million) involving the accounts of Cutting Edge Industries Ltd, a company owned by Tawfiq and Samuel Goh.
Zeti is a witness in the corruption trial of former prime minister Najib Razak on charges related to 1MDB.
Tawfiq had previously been questioned by police in connection with 1MDB funds. There has been no update on the investigation.
Wong Chen subsequently called for investigations into the former Bank Negara governor following the revelations by MACC, saying the central bank failed to carry out its fiduciary duty to alert and report the illicit movement of billions of ringgit in 1MDB funds..
Meanwhile, MCA central committee member Quek Tai Seong became the latest to call on MACC to investigate Zeti.
He also urged Zeti to break her silence on the matter.
“We hope Zeti and her husband can provide an explanation as soon as possible,” Quek said in a statement.
