Is AG serious about promise of Swiss cooperation on 1MDB?

COMMENT Malaysian attorney-general (AG) Mohamed Apandi Ali’s immediate response to his Swiss counterpart Michael Lauber with promises of full cooperation over criminal investigations on the 1MDB scandal, is likely to be mere lip service.

This observation is derived from the fact that ever since his abrupt and controversial appointment as AG by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in late July 2015, he has played the role of an obstructer rather than facilitator in unravelling the 1MDB-related scandals that have fatally maimed Najib’s reputation and rocked his government.

Almost immediately upon taking over from his predecessor, Abdul Gani Patail, who was shockingly and dubiously sacked by Najib - apparently for his diligence to nab culprits - Apandi discreetly disbanded the multi-agency special task force (led earlier by Gani) probing the twin scandals of 1MDB’s mega frauds and the mysterious deposit of US$681 million (RM2.6 billion; US$1 = RM3.8 in 2015) into Najib’s personal bank account.

Since then, investigations into 1MDB have all but stalled, with the Malaysian police - which was assigned specifically to probe the sovereign investment fund - showing more zeal in harassing whistleblowers and investigators, rather than catching the con men and criminals who have precipitated the multi-billion embezzlement in 1MDB.