Zeti’s fight is our fight too

Her quest for the truth may have been stymied by interested parties, and it is our burden to continue the fight.

Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Zeti Akhtar Abdul Aziz has become something of a hero among Malaysians of late. Following revelations from several prominent bloggers that Zeti may have been one of the key players in a coup to remove the increasingly unpopular Najib Razak, she has become a martyr even as she fends off calls from pro-Najib quarters to resign before her term as governor ends in April next year. 

The BNM Governor recently returned to Malaysia from a trip to the US and promptly gave an assessment of our economic outlook, but political observers will perhaps be more curious about Zeti’s claim that the central bank began informal investigations into 1MDB several years ago. In her own words, ““We did informal investigations with them for a few years actually, and we wrote reports and submitted the reports.” 

She also confirmed that BNM had completed the formal investigations that began last May and had submitted its findings and recommendations to the Attorney-General. 

Some questions spring to mind upon reading Zeti’s comments. First, was 1MDB already suspected of financial shenanigans several years ago? If so, on what grounds? Second, if reports and findings from the informal investigations on 1MDB were submitted to the AG, why was no action taken on the advice of those reports? Third, were any of those findings relevant to the formal investigation ordered in May? 

If 1MDB’s financial dealings were suspect years before the issue became a scandal, then what we know now may well just be the tip of the iceberg. In fact, what we know of 1MDB’s financial dealings probably barely informs us of the full extent of it operations, and if any of those operations are as suspect as the ones that have been exposed to the general public, then things could be far more dire than we think. 

Also unsettling is the knowledge that the central bank not only investigated 1MDB but also sent reports to the AG. We can assume that there were damaging revelations in those reports, knowing that Najib would have shouted his innocence from the rooftops had the reports exonerated him or 1MDB from any wrongdoing. That being so, the AG’s inaction suggests that he may have had an agenda of his own and would not benefit from 1MDB being castigated by our public institutions. 

Zeti ended her statement on a note of trepidation, expressing fear that she might be arrested. Yet, she has stood firm in the face of her attackers, and that is worthy of applause. We will indeed lose a paragon of dedicated public service once she steps down in April, but she will have earned her rest. 

Zeti chose to pursue the truth, and we as Malaysians cannot leave that effort unfinished!!!!