NEW PRIME MINISTER WON'T ENJOY SAME POWER AS NAJIB: Dr M turns activist to unseat former protégé

He makes a most unlikely blogger. And, for many, an even more unlikely full-throated advocate of freedom of speech.
But that is the role Mahathir Mohamad has carved out for himself inMalaysia, the nation he is credited with transforming into a regional economic powerhouse.
As he enters his 91st year, he has become the country’s most prominent and undoubtedly most effective activist.
He has come out of retirement to throw allegations of arbitrary arrest, throttling of the press and corruption against current prime minister Najib Razak – similar to accusations that were lobbed against him during his own premiership from 1981 to 2003.
Sitting in his cavernous office and surrounded by gifts from world leaders, the man whose two decades in power are described by rights groups as autocratic has slipped seemingly with ease into his new role.
“People are very angry but they have no way of voicing their feelings,” he said during an interview with the Guardian.
He said he felt compelled to speak out on his blog against Najib.
“It’s not something I enjoy,” he said. “I find I need to do something because lots of people came to see me, complaining about the government and asking me to do something.”
Mahathir has become the ringleader for one side of a political battle against Najib, his own handpicked heir who entered office six years ago.
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The embattled premier is facingallegations of corruption linked to a heavily-indebted state fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Najib has vigorously denied that a sum of nearly $700m that was moved into his personal bank accounts is linked to 1MDB, while Malaysia’s anti-corruption agency says the cash was a donation from the Middle East.
But Mahathir, speaking in the country’s administrative capital Putrajaya, says the allegations convinced him that Najib has to step down, and he has created a coalition of politicians to denounce the man he sarcastically calls “the king”.
This month, Mahathir held a press conference with members of the ruling party who have been sidelined by Najib, including sacked deputy prime ministerMuhyiddin Yassin. He condemned “a climate of fear among the people” and abuses of power after two men investigating Najib were arrested.
Dressed in his trademark khaki suit, Mahathir talked of Najib’s ills, painting a picture of a man obsessed with holding on to power.
“Previous prime ministers – we have had five prime ministers – have never been so condemned for corruption as this one and everybody says so,” he said. “[Najib] controls the mainstream media. They dare not say anything, they sort of censor themselves voluntarily,” he added.

Dr M
“They may be be transferred, they may be sacked, their paper may be stopped from publication. There are all kinds of things that he can do. He can call up the editors for questioning, which is always quite unpleasant, so people try to avoid that.”
Taking occasional breaks to cough, the 90-year-old has lost his youth but kept his direct gaze. Dwarfed by piles of books, documents and newspapers, he remains a central part of Malaysian political life and is visited at his riverside office by the country’s elite, who keep him informed.
“The only avenue is for a vote of non-confidence,” Mahathir said of hisdesire to oust Najib. “Or some demonstration to the ruler that he has lost the confidence and support of the majority of members of parliament.”
His relationship broke down gradually with Najib, he says: “I tried at first to talk to the prime minister. He doesn’t do anything at all to take that advice. Then I had to tell him privately that I no longer supported him. That also didn’t have any effect. Then I went public and told the public I am not supporting him.
“That had to go through the alternative media because he has literally blocked out anything that I say from the mainstream papers. Lots of people read my blog and they have commented on it,” he said.
Many Malaysians feel his attack on Najib is somewhat incongruous from a man accused of using repressive laws to silence or imprison his own critics.
“What a lot of us feel is that he started that. And we are reaping what he sowed,” said Shamini Darshni, Amnesty International Malaysia executive director. While Darshni says the current human rights climate is worse, she adds that detention without trial started with Mahathir.
While in office, he was condemned for his regular use of the Internal Security Act to detain individuals indefinitely and for curtailing the power of the judiciary through rewriting laws and intimidating of judges.
In 1999, 2000 and 2001, the Committee to Protect Journalists put Mahathir on its list of the 10 worst enemies of the press for his stranglehold on the mainstream media. Some of the Malaysian publications that are being intimidated by the current administration were also harassed by Mahathir.

When pressed on the point that Najib is using executive powers that come from Mahathir’s time in office, the former prime minister claimed he used them only to quell sometimes violent racial divides. Muslim Malays make up around 60% of the 30 million population, with ethnic Chinese at about a quarter and ethnic Indians less than 10%.
“During my time, yes, there were things that I did that were maybe not considered democratic and all that, but my job was to ensure that the race relations in this country remained healthy,” he said.
“To that extent, I never used [the powers] for my personal gain, for trying to acquire funds in an illegitimate way. That is an abuse of power.”
Mahathir has never contented himself with his successors, three times turning on men he handpicked to continue his work at the helm of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) party.
He first contrived to give the reins to his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim, who is now in prison for sodomy, a crime in Malaysia.
“Sodomy is not a crime in many countries. Even [foreign] ministers now come with their boyfriends. That is very acceptable. These people think I am not giving enough freedom. Well, this country is very conservative. We don’t want that kind of behaviour to be connected with our prime minister,” Mahathir said.
“I wanted him to succeed me, I brought him up. But with his faulty moral character, I don’t think he was suitable to become prime minister.

“I think he should have succeeded me. In fact, I was ready to step down after the Commonwealth games in 1998. I thought, ‘I’ve had 18 years of prime ministership, it’s time I go and give it to him.’ But it was exactly at that time that these things were exposed. I felt that he no longer deserved to become prime minister.”
Next to go was his once-loyal deputy Abdullah Badawi, whom Mahathir cultivated for years before Abdullah rose to become prime minister from 2003 to 2009. Mahathir came out of retirement to say he had lost confidence in Abdullah.
Najib, who headed several posts in Mahathir’s cabinet, was sworn in a day after Abdullah resigned. But now Najib too has fallen out of favour, Mahathir is considering whether any Malaysian can hold the office and the power he had in his grip for so long.
“I think if [Najib] steps down, whoever takes over will not be given the kind of authority he had, especially over the police,” he said.
“I think the people have learnt our lesson. They cannot give too much power to the prime minister.”

http://www.theguardian.com/

M'SIA POLITICAL CRISIS WORSENS: FEARS OF CLASHES AMID RUMORS OF NAJIB TRYING TO ARREST DR MAHATHIR

M'SIA POLITICAL CRISIS WORSENS: FEARS OF CLASHES AMID RUMORS OF NAJIB TRYING TO ARREST DR MAHATHIR

Written by Iskandar Dzulkarnain

Deputy Prime Minister cum Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has revealed to Parliament that the Police have opened three investigation papers on former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for criminal defamation.
The probes followed two police reports in Klang and one police report in Jinjang against the former premier which has been promptly submitted to the Attorney-General's Chambers on Oct 9 for further action.

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar previously said Mahathir was being investigated for criminal defamation for accusing Umno of corruption during the Bersih 4 rally and his increasingly aggressive efforts to oust Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

So the Home Minister, who surely has the blessings from his boss Prime Mnister Najib Razak, has finally shown his hidden card to reveal that Tun Dr Mahathir is indeed under probe and may face arrest soon enough, just like Umno Rebel Zainuddin Abu Hassan and Lawyer Matthias Chang who has been charged for allegedly sabotaging the country’s economy.

Will the day come, when Dr M be handcuffed and paraded in front of a witness stand like a terrorist, and charged under the Sosma Act, or is it merely another ploy to silence other critics from questioning the government?

Is the ongoing probe retaliation for his press conference held the other day, which he and other top BN leaders vehemently protested against the misuse of Sosma to jail crtitcs under the terrorist Act?
Those present at the protest were former Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, former Umno Vice President Shafiie, Umno supreme Tengku Razaleigh, ex Minister Sanusi Junid and former MCA President Ong Tee Keat.
A leader extraordinaire

Tun Mahathir led the country as Prime Minister for 22 years. In that time he has implemented many policies good and bad, which has touched and moulded our present existence in one way or another.
He was a strong leader who possessed good political acumen that kept him in power long after he has overstayed his welcome.

Although there are a good many out there who continues to curse him to his grave, most if not all have given him space to regret his past actions and to leave him alone in his twilight years.

He is 90 years old today and nobody can continue to be vengeful of an old man or try to settle any old scores with him. None whosoever, safe for one present embattled Umno President who cannot wait to get rid of him, just like what he did to ex Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
What are the repercussions if Dr M is arrested and jailed

.Most people are powerless to stop the flow of historical events following his 22 year old rule. While to some he is the devil incarnate, to others Dr M remains a hero that has brought much development to this country.

He still continues to be an inspiration to the masses, and wherever he goes he continues to garner deep respect, love and adulation. Just imagine how the rakyat would feel if he is arrested and jailed for speaking up against corruption and mis-governance?

Sincerely, it is very hard to believe that Dr M, or for that matter anyone, could be arrested simply for asking Najib to resign for his failure to answer for the suspicious RM2.6 billion in his personal accounts.
A perseverant critic, Dr M has also accused Najib of mishandling 1MDB, bribing certain Umno leaders and for stealing the country’s money.
The Police’s misplaced agenda

The rakyat too is suspicious as to why so much of our precious Police resources are channelled into probing a harmless critique like Dr Mahathir or Bersih activists, while Najib seems to be above suspicion?

Someone slyly commented that for some strange and inexplicable reason, our IGP can believe that somebody, Arab or not, is willing to donate RM 2.67 billion to our dear Prime Minister!

How gullible can anybody get or how mentally-challenged can a head honcho of a Government Department be? Just where did UMNO BARU/BN Government dig up all their Department Heads???

Tuan IGP, please investigate that donation and go easy on that over-staying ‘Warga Emas! (Golden Years Citizen) We enjoy having him around! And for goodness sake; please stop taking the people for granted.
A Stunning backlash with People’s Power expected

Malaysians are pleasantly surprised that Dr M still has the fighting spirit to defend the country against the crooks out there, whom he accuses of looting the country and destroying it.
Any attempts to touch him, arrest him or incarcerate him will only accelerate the demise of Umno and BN. It will lead to a stunning reaction amongst the masses who are supporting Tun and others who are supportive of the government.

Clashes and skirmishes cannot be ruled out and it will be total chaos which will lead to a divided nation. Umno itself would experience a big split right down the middle resulting in massive internal haemorrhage.

The Malay masses will rise up in such numbers that even Arab Spring will look like a kindergarten walkabout. How can any true blue blooded Malay allows such humiliation of a respected elderly statesman being stripped of his self respect?

Already the murmurings have begun, with many staunch Malay critics vowing to retaliate and cursing; over their dead bodies, should even one hair of Dr M be touched.

The meeker ones are calling for ‘Solat Hajat’ prayers for divine intervention to open their eyes as to who speaks the truth and which leader is lying through their teeth, and may God’s wrath be upon them!

Others are accusing Najib of playing the role of Police Chief, Chief Justice, Jury and Executioner as well, and if he is brave enough to arrest Mahathir, he wont last 24 hours as the backlash will nail Najib’s political goose right up to the wall.

It will also be Dr M’s final trump card, if the authorities ever fall into his trap to have him arrested. “Mahathir incarcerated for trying to save the country or Najib jailed for corruption and theft’, will be the blaring headlines. Who do you think the people will support?

Not only would it be the most talked about news of the year with daily headlines like; “Mahathir arrested” “Najib a freeman” - it will also be the drama of the century with everyone hoarding pop-corn to watch the spectacle unfolding before them.

Najib too will face international condemnation for arresting a past leader responsible for Malaysia’s progress and the repercussions will jettison the BN coalition into deep space before the year is out.
Letting him be, however may bring new blood flowing again through Umno’s varicose veins, while Najib’s unconditional resignation may be the only answer for Umno and BN to wake up from their ICU(Intensive Care Unit) induced coma. - MAILBAG

NAJIB'S BUDGET 2016 WILL 'KILL' M'SIA FASTER AS IT ADDS ON DEBT QUICKER THAN ECONOMY CAN GROW - TONY

Written by Tony Pua

As the Malaysian economy gets hit by a slowing global economic environment, declining commodity prices, rising inflation and a plunging ringgit, the Budget for 2016 just announced by the Prime Minister is long on grandiloquence and short on substance.

While the Prime Minister praises his Government for its far-sightedness to introduce the Goods & Services Tax (GST) as the income from the new tax will make up for the loss of revenue from the oil and gas sector.
The reality is Malaysians, particular the middle and lower income population are now burdened with coughing up RM39 billion of GST relative to the loss of RM17.5 billion from the Petroleum Income Tax.
In comparison, the Sales and Services Tax collected in 2014 amounted to only RM17 billion. This means that Malaysians have to suffer an increase in taxes by a whopping RM22 billion.

While the taxes paid by the man-on-the-street have been increased drastically, the Federal Government has failed to increase its prudence on expenditure. As an example, the budgeted expenditure for ‘Supplies and Services’ has been maintained at RM36.3 billion for 2016 when it was only RM20.8 billion in 2010. Why has this provision increased by 75.4% in just 5-6 years?

The consequence in the failure of the Federal Government to be prudent in spending can be reflected in the increase in Federal Government debt from RM582.8 billion in 2014 to an expected RM627.5 billion by the end of 2015. The increase in Federal Government debt by 7.7% also significantly outpaced the growth of Malaysia’s GDP of only 4-5% per annum.

Despite the above, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak has embellished his budget announcement with several mega project announcements including RM28 billion for the proposed MRT2 line, the Pan Borneo Highway and other infrastructure projects. Besides the fact that these projects were just recycled announcements from last year’s 2015 Budget, the Finance Minister forgot to mention the fact that these projects are funded by off-budget financing which isn’t reflected in the official budget.

These off-budget measures make a complete mockery of the Prime Minister’s boast that the Budget deficit will be further reduced from 3.2% in 2015 to 3.1% in 2016. This is because the projected deficit does not take into consideration the off-budget expenses funded by government guaranteed borrowings will ultimately be borne by the Federal Government.

Based on the Federal Government Financial Statements 2014, the contingent liability of the Federal Government arising from these Government guarantees will increase from RM157.5 billion in 2014 to RM172 billion in 2015. The resulting 9.2% increase is at an even faster than the rising Federal Government debt. This shows that the Government is shifting an even larger percentage of expenditure to “off-budget” to hide its inability to keep a lid on its expenditure.

Finally, for all the language of bravado peppered in the entire Budget speech, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak failed to deal with the key issues which has shattered domestic and international confidence in his administration. The Prime Minister did not see it fit to take on the massive elephants in the room, that is the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal and the RM2.6 billion purported “donation” into his personal bank account which also involved a Finance Ministry subsidiary, SRC International Sdn Bhd.

The Federal Government has already extended an emergency RM975 million in February this year, a “letter of support” to obtain a US$150 million loan from Bank EXIM and indemnified International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) for a US$1 billion advance to 1MDB. The inability of 1MDB to repay its debts and the realisation of the above contingent liabilities will have serious consequences to the Government finances and will naturally create a negative domino effect to the rest of our economy.

Hence the failure to tackle the extremely damning and damaging allegations against 1MDB and provide a credible plan for the Government against all 1MDB contingencies, the 2016 Budget will not only fail to lift local and international investor confidence, it will be another non-event which will soon be overshadowed by the multi-billion ringgit scandals of Najib’s administration.
Tony Pua MP for PJ Utara

Furious 1MDB Board Demanded Back Jho Low's US$700 Million Five Days After JV Was Signed! MAJOR EXCLUSIVE

Furious 1MDB Board Demanded Back Jho Low's US$700 Million Five Days After JV Was Signed! MAJOR EXCLUSIVE
Chairman Mohd Bakke Salleh soon resigned in disgust
Chairman Mohd Bakke Salleh soon resigned in disgust
Sarawak Report has now received a devastating vindication of its exposes of 1MDB through the release of further Board Minutes, which the Prime Minister and 1MDB executives have been fighting to keep secret for months.

Damning documents from a Special Meeting of the Board held on Saturday October 3rd 2009, shortly after the signing of the joint venture with PetroSaudi, reveal that furious Directors complained at how US$700 million was siphoned off from the company’s original US$1 billion investment in the venture.

So extreme was their concern that the Board even demanded that efforts should be undertaken to ensure the return of the money!
“arising from the gravity of the situation, the following instructions/requests were made by the BOD to the Management:
a) To determine if it is possible to seek the return of the US$700 million from PSI [PetroSaudi International] so that the funds could be remitted through the originally agreed channel” [Minutes 3rd October 2009]
Get the money back!! - unprecedented debacle
Get the money back!! – unprecedented debacle
The statement by the 1MDB Board further confirms the claim by the Bank Negara Malaysia  last week that the money invested in the joint venture was not used in the manner agreed.

Yet, despite such devastating comments by the members of its own Board, the present CEO of 1MDB, Arul Kanda, has maintained for weeks that our reporting on the matter has been misleading and inaccurate and that nothing had been untoward with the deal.

It is a matter of record that the then Chairman of the Board, Mohd Bakke Salleh, one of Malaysia’s most senior corporate figures, resigned shortly after this episode, along with another Director, Azlan Mohd Zainol.

Wilful disobedience of the Board by 1MDB Management

The availability now of a series of relevant minutes shows a pattern of wilful disobedience of the Board by 1MDB management.
Critics believe this indicates they were taking orders from another source, presumed to be the Minister of Finance/Prime Minister, who we now know was secretly the only person authorised to sign investment decisions and his official advisor, Jho Low (into whose bank account the US$700 million eventually went).
The minutes make it absolutely clear that the Board considered themselves inadequately informed and ultimately misled over the siphoning of the US$700 million into Jho Low’s Good Star Limited.
Not informed
Not informed
We now know from the previous minutes of September 18th that all the members of the 1MDB Board had expressed unhappiness on learning that the company PetroSaudi was not attempting to bring cash to the joint venture, only a supposed injection of assets.

The Board had resolved that PetroSaudi should inject at least” US$1 billion in cash to merit their 60% share of the company.

However, by October 3rd the minutes make plain that the Board of Directors had realised these demands had been simply ignored.  PetroSaudi had been allowed to get away with merely injecting “assets” into the venture.

What the minutes show is that at this juncture the Directors were already alarmed as to whether sufficient checks had been made to be sure that even these assets were genuine.

Significantly, the minutes record sharp questions by Board Members over why this deal had gone through at such breakneck speed, when they had understood that a thorough valuation of what PetroSaudi actually had in the way of assets ought to have taken till the following March 2010 – 6 months instead of just two weeks!
Why the rushed job? Where the due diligence, asked Board Members?
Why the rushed job? Where the due diligence, asked Board Members?
These are precisely the issues which Sarawak Report and numerous others have raised over the past few weeks as details of the PetroSaudi deal have emerged and on each and every occasion 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda has dismissed our concerns and sought to discredit our evidence.

Now we know that (unless Mr Kanda is going to deny the authenticity of these minutes) 1MDB’s own Board of Directors had been arguing exactly the same issues from the moment the deal was signed without their proper permission!

It is worth mentioning that the conduct of breakneck speed deals has subsequently become a signature feature of the loss-making 1MDB. None was so breathtakingly fast at the 1MDB /Aabar “strategic partnership” venture signed 12th March 2013, after which 1MDB raised US$3 billion within exactly one week!

The bankers Goldman Sachs charged a staggering US$300 million for the service of finding the money and gave the explanation that their client had been in an exceptional hurry.  One wonders why there was such a hurry to raise the money for a proposed project to build the Tun Razak Exchange, when two and a half years on little has been built?

As Sarawak Report has previously mentioned, two days after this money was raised  US$681 million was transferred into the Finance Minister/ PM’s bank account from an “anonymous donor” to support the election which was called just a few days later.

Once again the loan has turned out to be disastrous for 1MDB, which soon lost the money on ill defined payments, thus adding to its mountain of debt.

Board demanded PetroSaudi Assets be properly valued

The October 3rd minutes also confirm the concerns we have reported about the so-called valuation of PetroSaudi’s assets by the US banker Ed Morse.  Arul Kanda may have dismissed the matter when it was raised by opposition MPs, but the Board of Directors was also clearly extremely shocked at the situation that had developed with a billion dollars signed off into a joint venture where plainly not the slightest checks had taken place.

The demands that the board are minuted as being forced to make AFTER THE EVENT are as breath-taking as anything so far produced in this lamentable story of malpractice:
Imagine asking for such checks AFTER signing away a billion dollars!
Imagine asking for such checks AFTER signing away a billion dollars!
Section iv of the minutes (above) makes plain that the Board was forced to demand from management that they make some of the most basic possible checks on the deal AFTER they had paid out the money!

These checks included getting confirmation that the assets PetroSaudi claimed were genuine; checking that the assets were of the value claimed; getting a copy of the Ed Morse ‘valuation report’ (meaning 1MDB had still not got a copy five days after the deal had been signed); to drag Morse in for questioning on his findings and also to get a separate “independent valuer” to do another report on PetroSaudi’s worth, because as the Board clearly realised, Morse was not independent and had been hired by PetroSaudi!

What an unbelievable mess the 1MDB Board Directors had found themselves facing that Saturday 3rd of October in the aftermath of a deal that had been driven through like lightning without them having signed off on the details!

In the final paragraph (above) CEO Shahrol Halmi was ticked off like a boy in the Headmaster’s study and told to obey rules in future and that if he was unsure of his remit he should ask his bosses on the Board.

Yet, in truth Halmi had got his way, however meek his response. The money had been got out of 1MDB and into the Good Star account and it was never coming back: this was plainly the purpose of the PetroSaudi deal, since there has not been a squeal of complaint from the Minister of Finance over the loss of the money nor from PetroSaudi nor 1MDB’s management either!

Was the 1MDB JV signed behind the backs of the Board of Directors?

The fear and panic radiating out of normally dry minutes, in the case of this dramatic October 3rd meeting, represents a realisation by Board Members that US$700 million had just been snatched from public funds through the Jho Low PetroSaudi heist of the century.
What they imply is that the entire signing had been done behind their backs and without their knowledge!
Minutes from 18th September made clear that the Board were originally informed that the planned date for signing the deal was the 28th of the month – they were told (untruthfully) by Casey Tang that the King Abdullah himself would be needed to ink the paper.
The Board knew when the deal was due to be signed, despite talk of no valuation before March
The Board knew mid-September when the deal was due to be signed, despite talk of no valuation before March
However, the same September 16th minutes also show that the Board had demanded PetroSaudi commit cash rather than mere assets for the deal to go ahead.

From the later minutes on 3rd October one concludes that notice had later been given that the Saudis would nevertheless only be paying in assets, in which case the Board had responded that the date must be postponed until those assets could be checked (not before March).

If so, this request from the Board had plainly been ignored by the powerful forces propelling the deal, including Jho Low, his ‘Big Boss’ the Prime Minister and the tame figures in 1MDB management.
As we know none of the Board’s demands were met.

The Chairman resigned to be replaced by a compliant long-term agent of the Prime Minister from his days at the Ministry of Defence, Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, who has waived through every 1MDB deal without a murmur ever since.

The new Prime Minister had got his way with little resistance from the supposed decision makers of 1MDB – after all, they weren’t really the decision-makers anyway, as we now know.

JVA Was Signed Behind Our Backs – 1MDB Board Fury Further Explained!

JVA Was Signed Behind Our Backs – 1MDB Board Fury Further Explained!

18 Oct 2015

Board Meeting 2 days before deal was signed made plain that 1MDB Directors were not ready to sign
Board Meeting 2 days before deal was signed made plain that 1MDB Directors were not ready to sign
IMDB’s management was only authorised to “proceed with negotiations” for what was still described merely as a “proposed venture” by their Board of Directors, at a meeting just two days before the Joint Venture Agreement with PetroSaudi was actually signed!

The information comes from further minutes obtained by Sarawak Report, this time of a Special meeting of the Board of Directors held on 26th September 2009.

The records of this board meeting make clear that Directors considered that there were numerous detailed due diligence checks still outstanding on the joint venture, including a proper valuation of PetroSaudi’s assets, before they could move to completion.

It was agreed, therefore, that Management could proceed with negotiations, but needed to abide by recommendations, comments and amendments made by the Board, which included commissioning an independent valuation of 1MDB.

The only possible conclusion, therefore, is that the deal was signed two days later on 28th September behind the backs of 1MDB’s very own Board of Directors, whose instructions about how to proceed with the negotiations were simply ignored!
The Management were merely authorised to continue to negotiate and were ordered to abide by the recommendations and amendments proposed by the Board - including commissioning an independent valuation of PetroSaudi - yet two days later the deal was signed!
1MDB management were merely authorised to continue to negotiate and were ordered to abide by the recommendations and amendments proposed by the Board, including commissioning an independent valuation of PetroSaudi – yet two days later the deal was signed without the valuation!

That they had not authorised the signing of the Joint Venture Agreement explains even more clearly the fury expressed at the October 3rd emergency meeting of the Board, held just a week later, when Directors had not expected to meet again before October 9th.

At this meeting, on which we have already reported, the Directors expressed outrage that the deal had in fact been signed, when plainly none of the steps they had requested had been carried out.

The October 3rd minutes revealed that Directors had considered a realistic time line for the deal to be concluded was by March 2010, certainly not two days after they had commissioned key information checks about their proposed joint venture partner.
The Board had not expected to have to meet as early as October 3rd
On 26th September the Board had not expected to have to meet again as early as October 3rd
There was, of course, further concern expressed during the October 3rd meeting because by then it had emerged that US$700 million of 1MDB’s billion dollar investment had been diverted into an unauthorised account outside of the JV partnership, controlled by the Prime Minister’s agent Jho Low.
Board Members demanded to find out if the clearly misappropriated money could be brought back, given they had never sanctioned the deal in the first place!

Government to Government

The direct oversight and involvement of the Prime Minister’s Office over this entire joint venture operation is also plain from the records (above). Najib may have posed merely as the Chairman of a Board of Advisors to 1MDB, but in reality he was the sole shareholder and the only individual able to sign off on investment decisions.
The fact that the Prime Minister was preparing to make an announcement on the completion of the deal, rather than its progress, had clearly not dawned on the Directors on 26th September.

What’s more, the 26th September minutes make clear that at this date the Directors were still labouring under the false impression that the proposed joint venture was a “Government to Government” initiative, thanks to misleading information provided by the managers of 1MDB and PetroSaudi and the tone of the Prime Minister’s Office’s own pronouncements, which indicated the deal related to a new age of partnership between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia involving the investment of surplus Arab cash.

This directly influenced the Board’s willingness to waive certain normal business provisions and it further confirms the shocking level of deceit perpetrated by the company’s managers, including the then Chief Executive Shahrol Halmi, now himself on the 1MDB Board.
The Joint Venture was drawn up to waive normal wind-up and dispute procedures, on the basis that this was a Government to Government venture and matters would be handled politically
The Joint Venture was drawn up to waive normal wind-up and dispute procedures, on the basis that this was a Government to Government venture and matters would be handled politically

Earlier, on 18th September 1MDB’s Executive Director, Casey Tan, had told Board Members that PetroSaudi was “ultimately owned by King Abdullah” and was an arm of the Saudi State. Tan has now fled Malaysia where he is wanted for questioning by Bank Negara.

However, any glance at the company’s incorporation documents, audits or online information would have alerted 1MDB management and their lawyers from Wong & Partners, that this was not the case. In fact PetroSaudi was a small private company with limited paid up capital and few active concerns, owned by Tarek Obaid and Prince Turki/Terky bin Abdullah.
The shareholders were two private individuals
The shareholders were two private individuals
Yet the minutes of 28th September show that key decisions leading up to the joint venture were still be made under this false impression that PetroSaudi represented the Government of Saudi Arabia.

The belief caused the Board to minimise provisions for protecting the company, on the basis that disputes would be “arbitrated” on a government to government (“G-to-G”) basis rather than through normal civil legal channels.

In particular, so-called deadlock and wind-up provisions in case of dispute were deliberately drawn up with “fewer options” for 1MDB on the basis of this non-existent “G to G” relationship!
A later section of the minutes reiterates the plain misunderstanding that had been deliberately promoted:
Only the Malaysian Government had an interest, unknown to the Board!
Only the Malaysian Government had an interest, unknown to the Board!
The minutes also record (section vii above) that Directors were also falsely informed that PetroSaudi was bringing “over 20” companies under the Joint Venture Company’s “umbrella”.

In fact, PetroSaudi had one minor investment in Argentina, using borrowed cash and had merely opened up a couple of shell companies off-shore in the past days.
A web of holding companies with few genuine assets
A web of holding companies with few genuine assets
In the light of this misinformation that there would be 20 companies under the JV umbrella the Board sensibly resolved on 26th September that there needed to be “effective reports regarding the performance of these companies” before a decision was made.

The deliberation underscores the message that the Board of Directors had no intention of signing off on the Joint Venture and authorising the US$1 billion proposed investment just two days hence.  They wanted a thorough examination of the company that would take several months.

Indeed the Directors made a specific requirement at this 26th September meeting that an independent valuation of PetroSaudi should be commissioned from an expert appointed by 1MDB (which is described in the minutes as The Company).
Specific requirement that 1MDB commission its OWN valuation - instead CEO Shahrol Halmi allowed PetroSaudi to cook up a two day report through their pal Ed Morse
Specific requirement that 1MDB commission its OWN valuation – instead CEO Shahrol Halmi allowed PetroSaudi to cook up a two day report through their pal Ed Morse

Instead PetroSaudi itself had hired the valuer Ed Morse, a contact of their own directors Tarek Obaid and Patrick Mahony, to produce a report that was drawn up in two days based on information supplied by PetroSaudi.

As already known from the October 3rd Board Minutes published previously, the Directors were equally furious and alarmed at this self interested and hasty report delivered after the deal was signed and demanded a further valuation immediately.

Why the 1MDB PetroSaudi schemers could not afford delays

The real people behind the PetroSaudi deal - (from left) Jho Low, Prince Turki, Najib, Rosmah and Tarek Obaid - on the occasion they hatched the plan in August 2009 on a hired yacht off the South of France
The real people behind the PetroSaudi deal – (from left) Jho Low, Prince Turki, Najib, Rosmah and Tarek Obaid – on the occasion they hatched the plan in August 2009 on a hired yacht off the South of France

It is clear why the recommendations and requirements of the Directors made at the September 26th Board Meeting were ignored by those who were orchestrating events and anxious to get US$700 million paid as soon as possible into Jho Low’s Good Star Swiss bank account.

Because, if any of the proper checks required by the board had been carried out, the joint venture could never have gone ahead.

PetroSaudi would have been revealed as a two bit company and its temporary option on a so-called Farmin deal for a Turkmenistan oil field (due to run out in early October) would have long-since expired, meaning it could no longer pretend to an “interest”, which was being projected as an ownership.

Sarawak Report contends that this audacious plan in blatant defiance of 1MDB’s Board by its Management could never have proceeded without the direct support and authorisation of the real power at 1MDB, the Finance Minister cum Prime Minister himself, who was willing to project a deal with a private company, owned by one of the Saudi King’s many dozen children from over thirty wives, as a ‘Government to Government’ venture between Malaysia and the State of Saudi Arabia.

Would the likes of Shahrol and Casey have dared defy their bosses on the Board unless thus instructed through the agency of the official ‘Advisor’ Jho Low, who has already been demonstrated through documents released from the PetroSaudi database as the person actively managing the deal?

Sarawak Report contends that the wealth of evidence now obtained surrounding this venture points to one conclusion only, which was that the sole objective was to divert public money, borrowed on behalf of Malaysian development, into the private bank account of Jho Taek Low and from thence to places which can be explained by the Central Banks of Switzerland, Singapore and elsewhere.

How 1MDB Board Was Tricked By Lies From A Management Working For Najib!

How 1MDB Board Was Tricked By Lies From A Management Working For Najib!

15 Oct 2015

How come no concern about the missing money?
How come no concern about the missing money?
Sarawak Report has obtained yet more sensational documents, which lay bare even futher the deceit of 1MDB’s management over the PetroSaudi deal, as well as the weakness of the Board, revealed as a mere rubber stamp for the actual sole decision-maker of the company, the Finance Minister Najib Razak.
More Board Minutes, till now kept secret, show that 1MDB Board members attempted to exact a proper cash input from PetroSaudi into the joint venture deal, in order to match the billion that Malaysia had agreed to contribute.
However, in the event this demand was simply ignored.
Worse, the management of 1MDB are exposed for having blatantly LIED to anxious Board Members over the identity of the owner of PetroSaudi, just ten days before the deal went ahead.
Special Board Meeting of the Terengganu Investment Authority, Sept 19th 2009, the day it changed its name to 1MDB
Special Board Meeting of the Terengganu Investment Authority, Sept 19th 2009, the day it changed its name to 1MDB

Owned by King Abdullah!

Minutes of a Special Meeting of the Board held on 18th September 2009 (ten days before the joint venture was signed on 29th) show that 1MDB’s Executive Director, Casey Tang, point blank lied to Board Members, by saying that the personal owner of PetroSaudi was none other than the then King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia!
“Casey clarified that PetroSaudi is ultimately owned by King Abdullah and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” the minutes record with breath-taking clarity.
The real owner is the King of Saudi Arabia!
The real owner is the King of Saudi Arabia!
Sarawak Report assumes that Arul Kanda will to own up to the authenticity of these minutes, as well as other minutes which we have printed, because he knows the information is widely circulated, despite having been vigorously suppressed by his boss the Prime Minister.
Did Kanda think this matter could be hidden?
Did Kanda think this matter could be hidden?
What it means it that Casey Tang told a bare-faced lie to his Board.
All the evidence available about PetroSaudi confirms that this was an entirely private company with a very limited capital base, which was one of a set of shell ventures set up by a youthful Prince Turki and his pal Tarek Obaid in the hope of cashing in on their royal connections.
Sarawak Report has long since documented the changing profile of PetroSaudi and the fact that it relied for years on a mailbox address and a borrowed phone and fax number off other buddy, none other than Xavier Justo, based in Geneva at a company called Fininfor.
But, don’t take this information just from Sarawak Report, take it from Tarek’s own brother Nawaf, who was a key connection for these chancers back in Saudi Arabia, where he maintained a job as a political advisor.
When Tarek sent him the planned press release about the 1MDB PetroSaudi joint venture the day before it was published on 29th September 2009, Nawaf emailed him back:
Don't say it's 'state to state'! Obaid's brother warns the day before the press release
Don’t say it’s ‘state to state’! Obaid’s brother warns the day before the press release
“You have to say it is private” cautioned Nawaf, “as the Malaysians say their company is government!”
Nawaf Obaid provided the key Saudi contact for PSI's dealings for Najib
Nawaf Obaid provided the key Saudi contact for PSI’s dealings for Najib
In other words, there is no question that that PetroSaudi was “ultimately owned by King Abdullah and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” or that this was a ‘state to state’ venture – and Tarek’s own brother was cautioning him that it must not be implied that it was.
Tarek took his brother’s hint.
He carefully altered the press release the next day, adding three words to acknowledge the company was indeed private, while still implying it was “mandated” by the State of Saudi Arabia”.
We can see that:
“PSI, based in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, is mandated to carry out investments which can strengthen the relationships between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and key countries worldwide.”
was changed to:
“PSI, based in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, is a private company mandated to carry out investments which can strengthen the relationships between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and key countries worldwide.”
The revised version was on 1MDB's website until recently removed
The revised version was on 1MDB’s website until recently removed
This evidence alone makes it perfectly clear why a wanted notice was issued earlier this year by Malaysian Bank Negara investigators for none other than the said Casey Tang, who had mislead the Board.
Wanted by Bank Negara for months - now we know why!
Wanted by Bank Negara for months – now we know why!
Sarawak Report has already published numerous emails from the PetroSaudi data base, into which Mr Casey Tang was copied as a key member of the evident conspiracy to mislead and defraud the Bank of Malaysia and the Board Members of 1MDB into sending a total of US$1.82 billion dollars out of the country and into the bank accounts of Jho Low and his conspirators from PetroSaudi.
The current 1MDB chief, Arul Kanda, has attempted to imply these documents have been forged by Sarawak Report, so he should show us the evidence and take us to court (fat chance of that).

Board demanded PSI contribute cash as well as alleged assets

Another jaw-dropping revelation comes out of these minutes in the days leading up to the lightening deal to relieve the Malaysian public of a billion dollars of expensive public borrowings.
The fund’s Board Members had by this stage clearly understood that contrary to the publicity PetroSaudi was planning not to inject cash, but only some alleged assets into the deal.
The Board Members who till recently had been understood as being in charge of decisions at 1MDB were plainly not happy at the prospect, for understandable reasons, given that Malaysia was injecting all the working capital and only gaining 40% of the joint venture company.
This could not go ahead, Board Members and Directors are recorded as having unanimously agreed. They demanded that if the deal was to proceed then PetroSaudi also would have to inject at LEAST a billion also in cash!
Note how the minutes emphasised the AT LEAST in italics on behalf of Directors
Note how the minutes emphasised the AT LEAST in italics on behalf of Directors
As the world now knows, this never happened. Yet, although PetroSaudi did not inject a bent ringgit into the deal, it nevertheless went full steam ahead to be signed a few days later.
In fact, not only did PetroSaudi not contribute cash, it did the opposite.
0c3a00dThe useless (or complicit?) Directors at the fund allowed the fraudsters to issue a fictitious paper loan for a whopping US$700 million into the proceedings, which they then demanded be repaid three days later in real cash by 1MDB on the day of the signing of the deal.
Casey Tang and Shahrol Halmi blithely agreed to this breath-taking demand, as if they were paying for a cup of coffee and soon after Casey was asking for suitable suggestions for a great place for the team to all have a post-deal meeting with plenty of rest and recreation!
So, not only did PetroSaudi avoid paying their equal share of the investment, they whipped out the lion’s share of Malaysia’s investment on Day One – allowing it to be diverted, of course, into an account belonging to the Prime Minister’s own representative and official Advisor Jho Low.
How was it that this was sanctioned or allowed to go ahead in defiance of the Board resolution?  Indeed, the Chairman it is well-known resigned the moment he found out what had happened a few days later.
Jho Low got the money and has moved into the most expensive Hollywood circles
Jho Low got the money and has moved into the most expensive Hollywood circles
However, no one was complaining within 1MDB and crucially, the Finance Minister, whom we all now know was secretly the only ultimate decision-maker at the fund, appears to have been entirely content with the situation and with the disappearance of US$700 million into an account owned by his young advisor Jho Low.
This was the first of several sums that disappeared from 1MDB in a similar fashion over subsequent years, each of which was orchestrated by Jho Low, who has simultaneously managed the Prime Minister’s private business, right down to paying for his wife Rosmah’s diamond purchases in Hong Kong, as we have demonstrated also.
At what point is Mr Arul Kanda going to give up lying that all was done properly and with due diligence at 1MDB and admit that this has been one of the biggest single thefts of the millennium so far?

How Jho Low Pays for Rosmah's Shopping Sprees - EXPOSE!

How Jho Low Pays for Rosmah's Shopping Sprees - EXPOSE!

‘Fancy’ coloured diamonds from New York’s Louis Glick are a particular favourite of Rosmah’s
Sarawak Report has continued its enquiries into Rosmah Mansor’s financial links with the controversial businessman Jho Low, whose company siphoned nearly USD2 billion from the 1MDB PetroSaudi joint venture in 2009.
Despite earlier denials, Sarawak Report has now accessed documents and emails, which detail how Jho Low has provided payments for millions of dollars worth of diamonds purchased by the Prime Minister’s wife.
Payments were done through Hong Kong, using an account belonging to a Jho Low owned company named Butamba Investments Limited at the British bank RBS Coutts’ branch in Singapore.
The system, according to people who have sold to Rosmah, is generally for Jho Low to pay an intermediary, who then pays the jeweller.
Natasha Mirpuri
Natasha Mirpuri
Previously this intermediary was Deepak Jaikishan, who was once a trusted agent of Mansor’s, but who later went public about his role in silencing a witness in the Altantuya murder case.
Currently, the intermediary is confirmed to be the Singaporean dress designer Natasha Mirpuri, who now works with her husband Haresh Mirpuri as the ‘fixer’ for all Rosmah’s precious gem acquisitions.
The Mirpuris are now familiar faces at the various world jewellery shows and they have created exclusive and profitable links with several international jewellers.
Sarawak Report has viewed numerous emails sent from and to Jho Low relating to such payments, which are notoriously hard for jewellers to get settled.
Haresh Mirpuri - now seen regularly with his wife at jewellery trade fairs
Haresh Mirpuri – now seen regularly with his wife at jewellery trade fairs
In one transfer, hundreds of thousands of dollars can be seen as having been paid directly from Jho Low’s company to a known jeweller to settle several items of diamond jewellery purchased by Rosmah.
Another set of emails and receipts detail how Jho Low’s company paid a total of USD1 million to a Jakarta trader, Deepak Topandasani, towards purchases of ‘Datin’s jewels’.
A further payment also of a million US dollars was directly made to an Asian subsidiary of one of the world’s most exclusive jewellers in New York, Louis Glick.  Again the money came from the same company owned by Low.
Usually, however, traders say it is Mirpuri who controls all transactions and makes payments through Hong Kong.  Jho Low in turn pays Mirpuri.  One one occasion Low told an intermediary:
“She [Rosmah] has to realise it takes time, it’s not so easy to just get the money quickly”.
The system is frustrating and uncertain say traders, who are often made to wait months to be paid for transactions.  One Asia based jeweller told Sarawak Report:
“It can take up to a year to get paid. You get paid in instalments indirectly.  She has the money of course, it’s just she is very controlling and  likes to make people wait, she is a control freak”.
Another, who is based in Europe, confirmed:
“We are waiting [on] their payments more than six months – we sold end August/Septemeber and we are still waiting and it is a big amount. It’s not like you can just phone her up…. they are not buying like before, she was a good customer but she is changing now”.
Given this further evidence gained from jewellers and insiders, Sarawak Report believes it is time Malaysia’s first couple explained their relationship with Jho Low, his role at 1MDB and where the money came from in order to finance these enormously expensive purchases for the PM’s wife?
Mixing business with family friendship.  Jho Low lines up with the Directors of PetroSaudi and Malaysia's 'first family' at the outset of the 1MDB venture
Mixing business with family friendship. Jho Low (left) lines up with the Directors of PetroSaudi and Malaysia’s ‘first family’ at the outset of the 1MDB venture

Butamba Investments Limited

The payments accessed by Sarawak Report show that one company regularly used by Jho Low to pay jewellers providing gems for Rosamah was Butamba Investments Limited.
Rose Trading is the Hong Kong arm of the New York jeweller Louis Glick
One million dollars transferred to Rose Trading, the Hong Kong arm of the New York jeweller Louis Glick
Jewellers say that more often than not Jho Low has funnelled funds more indirectly, through Deepak Jaikishan and Natasha Mirpuri.
However, we have seen a number of receipts paid directly by Butamba Investments, all relating to jewellery purchases by Rosmah, according to related emails. An email related to the above telegraphic transfer record read:
Fwd Payment advice to Rose Trading USD1,000,000
From: Lee Julia (RBS Coutts, SG)
To: jho.low@gmail.com
Dear Mr Low,
Thanks
Julia Lee (attachment)
Separately, an email relating to the below receipt was forwarded from Jho Low and was titled ‘Internal Transfer’ Fvg Deepak USD750,000:
“Hi….please confirm receiving 1 million in total.. Datin is coming to Hong Kong. Do you want to show her more goods?”
Jho Low's company Butamba transferred money to Deepak and Mirpuri to pay jewellers
Not to be confused with Deepak Jaikishan – Jho Low’s company Butamba transferred money to pay these jewellers in Jakarta
Research into Jho Low’s company Wynton Capital by Malaysia’s premier business paper The Edge has already established that Butamba Investments Limited is the investment arm of Wynton Capital and was listed as a shareholder of Iskandar Holdings, the company which acquired a large chunk of controversial land in the Government backed venture that has destroyed much of Malaysia’s remaining mangrove forest and displaced native fishing communities.
Colours attract the magpie spenders
Colours attract the magpie spenders
The payments from Butamba Investments, along with the related emails from Jho and testimony from jewellers and insiders, seal the link between Jho Low and highly expensive purchases of jewellery by the Prime Minister’s wife.
Another email sent to Jho Low and a jeweller, who was  awaiting settlement reads:
“As per conversation with Jho Low he has informed he will do the following.  Your outstanding balance is now US$1,650,000.  Latest by 14th deposit US$750,000 and by end [of the month] deposit US$900,000 (500 +400)..”
Jho Low himself wrote several emails direct to jewellers, which we have seen along the lines of the one quoted below:
From jho.low@gmail.com
cc yewchee.yak@rbscoutts.com
Subject: Wire transfer for jewellery
“I wish to confirm USDxxx,xxx is Ok. You should receive it late tonight or tomorrow” [we have been asked not to state the amount to protect the identities of the transactions]
It is therefore legitimate to ask why millions of dollars in payments went through this company owned by Low in order to fund the purchases of diamonds and other jewels by Rosmah?
Coloured diamonds, favoured by Asia's nouveau riche, is where the money is
Coloured diamonds, favoured by Asia’s nouveau riche, is where the money is

Coutts Bank

Butamba’s Singapore account with RBS Coutts is not the only connection between Jho Low and this private bank, regarded as one of the most exclusive in Britain.
The Chairman of the bank is the son of a former Prime Minister, Earl Hume and its most famous customer is the Queen.
Earl Hume is also Patron of the British Malaysia Society, which seeks to build relationships between the business elites of both countries.
It was Coutts Bank’s Zurich branch in Switzerland, which controversially provided an account for another Jho Low company named Good Star, which accepted a USD700 million payment from 1MDB at very short notice on October 2nd 2009.
Evidence from the PetroSaudi data base, acquired by Sarawak Report and others from their former executive Xavier Justo, shows that PetroSaudi Director Patrick Mahony had lied to 1MDB’s legal team that Good Star belonged to PetroSaudi, when in fact it was controlled by Jho Low.
Large pearl - Rosmah's jewellery has raised eyebrows
Large pearl – Rosmah’s jewellery has raised eyebrows
As Sarawak Report revealed in March, the youthful Low enjoyed an unofficial and secretive but extremely powerful position at 1MDB, as it was understood he was the representative of the Prime Minister and Finance Minister, who it has emerged had himself secretly obtained total authority over all spending and investments, as the sole shareholder and signatory of 1MDB.
Emails show that there was concern expressed by compliance staff at Coutts about who the beneficial owner of Good Star was on the day of the transaction on October 2nd 2009.
Yet, what would normally be regarded as a suspiciously large transaction was nevertheless completed in a matter of a few hours on that day.
The following year some USD530 million was then transferred on from the Good Star account at Coutts Zurich to an account beneficially owed by Jho Low at BSI’s Singapore Branch.
Jho Low’s BSI accounts are now being investigated by the Singapore authorities as part of the wider investigation into the missing billions from 1MDB.

The Mirpuris

A number of insiders have identified this Singapore couple as the key intermediaries for Rosmah’s ‘shopping therapy’.
The fashion designer became part of Rosmah’s entourage around 2006, insiders say, and was extremely ingratiating.  She started to replace Deepak and other intermediaries with retailers for Rosmah and has controlled the ‘First Lady’s’ purchases for the past six years.
Jewellers have complained to Sarawak Report that the situation has disadvantaged them because the Mirpuris demand commission, or they will not make the introduction to this lucrative client.
“The normal commission for white diamonds is about 2-3%, but Rosmah likes “fancy” diamonds [coloured]. Normally, an agent can hope for up to 10% for fancy diamonds, but the Mirpuris are demanding 20-30%”, a business insider told Sarawak Report.
Payments from Jho Low are obtained in dribs and drabs, usually through the Mirpuris.
However, one creditor told Sarawak Report that in one case the balance was settled directly in cash that Jho Low paid into their colleague’s Hong Kong account through Coutts Singapore:
“It was two lots of USD500,000. The bank accepted the cash straight into the account. No inward remittance – untraceable cos cash”.
It has been observed that the Mirpuris, who appear to have no other occupation beyond servicing Rosmah, have become prosperous in recent years.
“All the negotiations are done through them, not Jho Low.  It’s like you can’t go direct to her, because if you do bad things will happen to you and you aren’t going to get paid… They are the people right now between the payment and the jewellers” remarked one.

Shopping ‘therapy’ and Jho Low’s family connection

Rosmah’s propensity to buy large has got out of control in recent years, particularly since she became ‘First Lady’, members of her entourage and sellers have confirmed to Sarawak Report.
“People say Rosmah finds buying her therapy, this is her happiness let it go. But, she went crazy, overboard.. It’s very easy to charge US$20 million for a pink diamond – $20 million, $30 million, $40 million, so it’s not hard to spend” explains one.
However, the system of payments through third parties creates major problems say jewellers.
Most sales take place at her own residence where jewellers fly in from all over the world to hawk their wares.  If the transaction is “small” i.e. less than a million dollars, according to one trader, then the payment is fixed on the spot.
“She has this aluminium cupboard that stretches the entire wall of one room and it is full of cash, all lined up in different denominations and amounts”
However, the larger sums are less easy to settle and can involve several payments over many months.
“There is no up front, no one-time, nothing. Everything is spread out like over 6 months. There is no one-time payment made to one company… there’s always payments made in maybe 5 batches or 6 batches, spread out over the year.  This is why it’s quite open in the industry that a lot of people don’t want to do deals with her because it is very risky.. the margins are very high, but their risk is even higher”
Rosmah is also known to be temperamental, say jewellers.
Purchases of less than a million can be settled at home in cash say jewellers.
Purchases of less than a million can be settled at home in cash say jewellers.
In one case a prominent Malaysian jeweller, who was driven to ask for a delayed payment had all the purchased articles thrown back at him, following which he was expelled from the house – sale cancelled.
Jho Low’s involvement in the process comes from his trusted position as a longstanding family friend, introduced by Rosmah’s son Riza who he met abroad while at school in the UK and then the US.
The Warton business school graduate has boasted in the past how he started his company Wynton Capital while still in college with a “few million” and he was taking a pivotal role as a “trusted advisor, helping the family with their finances” from his twenties say people who know the couple well.
The question remains as to why the couple have so much money for Jho Low to assist in spending and apparently managing?
As numerous observers have pointed out neither inherited money of this magnitude and Najib has been a politician earning an MP’s and ministerial salary since his early twenties – he joined parliament at the age of 23.
Responses on this subject in recent months have ranged from inheritance, to the expected wealth of people in high positions to wealth from a newly acquired son in law.
However, Jho Low’s activities as a prominent investor linked to many of Malaysia’s public projects from a very tender age now clearly deserve explaining.  Why is he paying for Rosmah’s jewels and where did this money come from?