Najib: If The People I Appointed Failed To Protect Malaysia's Interests, How Would I Know?
He says the people involved in keeping a check on 1MDB should have informed him that "something was not right".
By Sadho Ram — 22 Nov 2018, 05:49 PM
Najib Razak, who is currently out on bail in connection with his 25 criminal charges related to 1MDB, in his latest interview has shunned any responsibility with the 1MDB scandal, saying the blame lies with the people he appointed to safeguard the fund
According to Najib, who was the Finance Minister and Chairman of 1MDB at the time, those who were dealing with 1MDB, including Goldman Sachs his administration had appointed to look after the interest of Malaysia, should be blamed for not alerting him.
In a live interview with Sinar Harian Thursday morning, Karangkraf executive editorial advisor Abdul Jalil Ali had asked Najib whether he ever saw the possibility that fugitive businessman Jho Low would cause Malaysia to lose billions of ringgit.
Responding to the question, while Najib admitted that his administration was duped by people including Jho Low entrusted to monitor 1MDB, he accused investment bank Goldman Sachs of failing to protect the country's interests in the 1MDB scandal.
"Yes... this is the conclusion if we consider what we know today. This is actually (what happened). Action must be taken if it's clear that he (Jho Low) committed an offence," the former prime minister told Abdul during the Sinar Harian interview today.
Najib claimed that while he had appointed lawyers, auditors and Goldman Sachs to monitor Malaysia's strategic investment arm, bad things happened when the monitoring was not done properly
"Back then, we appointed lawyers, auditors and Goldman Sachs, a well-known investment bank in the world, to look after the interest of Malaysia. Which means we had in place a correct system. However, they did not carry out their duties. The responsibility of this bank and all the rest was to protect Malaysia's interests.
"So, if they had failed to take care of the interest of Malaysia, how should I know (what happened)? That is the conclusion," Najib said, adding that he also had "no idea" what Jho Low did privately. "I only knew it later. If you talk about the superyacht, about the jet, about the parties, I was not involved and I did not know back then."
According to Najib, the people along with the bank involved in 1MDB should have informed him that "something was not right"
"They clearly failed in carrying out their responsibilities, for example, Goldman Sachs," Najib said, adding that "the system he created to protect Malaysia's interests – investment banks, auditors, lawyers and all, they have not played their true role."