Sarawak Report has learnt from sources close to the Goldman Sachs negotiations during the former PH government that the US bank had agreed as a starting point to commit to total transparency as the basis for any settlement over the 1MDB cases against it.

PH were looking for a far more generous payment for Malaysia, money that would have gone into the Assets Recovery Trust Account under the Ministry of Finance to be used to pay off the crushing debts still owed by 1MDB, which are a burden on the nation. No settlement had yet been reached.

However, shortly after their backdoor coup the PN government reached a speedy, cut-price settlement and apparently authorised a changing of the rules to include a non-disclosure agreement to prevent the details getting out, according to the PAS ‘Law Minister’ Takiyuddin Hassan speaking over the weekend.

The government has now used this as an excuse to slap an Official Secrecy order on the matter meaning that no one can be sure where Goldman’s $2.5 billion in hard cash has actually gone.

It makes you think, doesn’t it?

The first thing we are led to wonder is will 1MDB’s accounts suddenly once more also become an Official Secret, which was what previous government under Najib ordered to cover up their thefts?

After all, the vast majority of those in the present PN government were either directly supporting the convicted former prime minister in his thieving from the fund or secretly colluding whilst pretending to be in the opposition camp (i.e. PAS).

If the secret Goldman Sachs settlement money fails to be registered in 1MDB’s accounts as having been used to pay off debt then PN’s top dogs can hardly afford for the nation to know about it – particularly if the luxury vehicle loving clerics from PAS start sporting yet another range of brand new official cars.


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PETALING JAYA: Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, making a stand against political corruption, has said that he will not attend the debate on the 2021 budget while the legitimacy of the government had not been established.

In a letter to the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Azhar Azizan Harun, he told off the Speaker for having made what he described as a misconceived suggestion to consult the law minister about tabling a motion of no confidence in the prime minister.

“To discuss the budget without first establishing the legitimacy of the prime minister and his ministers “is to compromise on an important constitutional principle”, said Razaleigh, who is familiarly known as Ku Li.

Such a compromise would have serious consequences on the upholding of the Federal Constitution and said it was a “possible use of political corruption to maintain power”.


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PETALING JAYA: An NGO representing retired armed forces officers has described the move to curb the sale of alcoholic drinks as ridiculous, questioning authorities if consuming it was more dangerous than corruption.

“We would like to ask the pious Ahmad Marzuk Shaary to tell us if drinking alcohol or corruption is the bigger evil,” National Patriots Association (Patriot) president Mohamed Arshad Raji said, referring to the deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs).

“Which is more damaging to our society and nation? Which evil attracts Malays most?”

Arshad asked Ahmad Marzuk and Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa to look at the large number of immigration officers arrested last week for alleged human trafficking and the many politicians currently facing corruption charges.

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I know most of you will agree with this – Budget 2021 must be rejected.

Most of you might be angry with EPF and the moratorium. For me, that is a non-issue as there is a solid argument for both sides. But my reasoning on why the budget should be rejected is different – this silly government is focusing too much on creating jobs and providing training, instead of rewarding hard-working Malaysians to work even harder.

My argument is simple. It is not the government’s responsibility to create jobs and provide training for the jobless. It has been proven time and time again that the most efficient way to ensure effective training and quality jobs is by leaving it to the private sector. In short,



instead of the government allocating billions of ringgit to the jobseekers for jobseeking and training, use the money to help the companies and entrepreneurs by creating a more efficient free-market environment.

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• Out of 124 company leaders, just over half, or 54.8%, said they are “more optimistic” and 8.1% are “much more optimistic” about doing business in China following President-elect Joe Biden’s win, according to a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai released Friday.
  
• “The Biden administration would be a positive to the stability of the environment, the stability of the relationship,” Ker Gibbs, president of AmCham Shanghai, told CNBC in a phone interview.
  
• However, uncertainty remains as only 13.7% of respondents plan to increase investment in China, with the majority sitting tight or undecided on their local development plans.