The former New Straits Times group chief editor said there is far too much at stake for members of the taskforce — which comprises the police, Bank Negara Malaysia, Attorney-General’s Chambers and Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission — to “sabotage or pervert the investigation in favour of any party”.
“They have to play the team game or risk being exposed as renegade,” Kadir said in the latest entry on his blog.
“It might have been too late for any single person, including the Prime Minister, to divert the direction of the investigations,” he added.
Kadir theorised that the police — who he said operate under the purview of one of Najib’s few remaining supporters, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi — could have been influenced to steer the taskforce away from Najib as allegedly proven by inspector-general of police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar’s failure to interrogate Swiss national Xavier Andre Justo who is currently in Thai custody.
The retired newsman claimed that Khalid’s failed attempt at securing permission for Malaysia’s police to question Justo showed that the country’s top-cop was allegedly more interested in the case’s political implications instead of the criminal aspects.
“Attempts might have been made to force the police to act contrary to the interest of the task force but could not be executed because the force itself was against such an interference or because the investigation had gone too far ahead to be effectively sabotaged,” Kadir said to back his theory.
Despite this, Kadir claimed that Najib’s “team” will not cease their “propaganda war” to divert attention away from the scandal — making a special mention of “spin doctor” Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan who recently highlighted claims of an alleged plot by whistleblower site Sarawak Report and the federal opposition to forge documents linking the prime minister to 1MDB.
The suspension of two flagship titles from The Edge Media Group could be the beginning of the Najib’s team “kill-the-messengers” strategy, Kadir added as he predicted that the attacks might become more vicious and target even members of the task force, as a last ditch “act of devotion” by the prime minister’s “cybertroopers”.
The taskforce has so far made five arrests, the latest being the arrest of a 27-year-old despatch rider yesterday.
The individual is believed to be linked to a 28-year-old owner of a trading company who was also remanded on Friday.
A 48-year-old “Datuk”, managing director of a construction firm, was remanded on Saturday, as his firm is said to have business dealings with SRC International — a former 1MDB subsidiary that is now under the direct control of the Finance Ministry.
Two other suspects have been released on police bail after being detained in the 1MDB probe: a 54-year-old managing director of Ihsan Perdana, that manages 1MDB’s corporate social responsibility programmes, and a 39-year-old director of a firm believed to have business dealings with SRC International.
Datuk A. Kadir Jasin is a veteran newsman
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