5 New Videos By WSJ That Simplify 1MDB Scandal Issues In 48 Seconds
Wall Street Journal's 101 on Malaysia's biggest corruption scandal.
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 27 Nov 2015, 06:37 PM
Malaysians are probably tired of listening about the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) issue that is most likely one of the biggest political corruption scandals Malaysia has ever faced.
The truth is, the scandal in its entirety isn't particularly the easiest thing to digest - especially with new findings and allegations surfacing over the past year.
The issue was first brought up on 2 July when news channels, Sarawak Report and the Wall Street Journal published reports claiming that a sum of RM42 million from the government owned strategic development company, 1MDB, has been transferred into Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal account in December 2014.
Sarawak Report also claims that a grand sum of RM2.6 billion has been transferred into Najib's personal account right before the 2013 General Elections.
The issue has gained so much of international media attention to the point that it is currently being investigated by several American lawmakers including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Switzerland's Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) and the America's Justice Department's Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative that is a designated department to investigate international corruption scandals.
Armed with creative visuals and infographics, New York's English daily, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has produced a series of easily digestable videos explaining the 1MDB scandal in a nutshell
The first video from the series, 'Five Things to Know About 1MDB' by WSJ, was published on 31 July and it raises five major questions on the issue:
1. Why is Prime Minister Najib under scrutiny?
2. Why did Prime Minister Najib shale up his cabinet?
3. Why were the two newspapers (The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily) shut down?
4. Has anyone been charged?
5. What lies ahead for parliament's probe?
Subsequently,on 23 November, WSJ went on to release five more videos detailing the growing scandal, in simple, bite-sized formats:
1. Malaysia's 1MDB Decoded: Missing Billions
How $2.4 billion in payments from Malaysia’s 1MDB to the gulf emirate of Abu Dhabi appear to have gone missing.
2. Malaysia's 1MDB Decoded: Growing Scandal
How the scandal around 1MDB is roiling Malaysian politics and has led to investigations inside the country and around the world.
3. Malaysia's 1MDB Decoded: Get Me $3 Billion and Fast
How Malaysia’s 1MDB raised $3 billion quickly and quietly via Goldman Sachs during a tight national election campaign.
4. Malaysia's 1MDB Decoded: The Prime Minister's Bank Accounts
How nearly $700 million ended up in bank accounts allegedly controlled by Malaysia’s prime minister during a tight national election campaign.
5. Malaysia's 1MDB Decoded: Campaign Cash
How a multi-billion dollar power plant deal by Malaysia’s 1MDB is connected to spending during a tight national election campaign.
For a detailed report on all things related to the unresolved 1MDB scandal, read SAYS's coverage on the issue here: