Zahid Hamidi said 1MDB issue did not crop up during his visit to the US and in meetings he held with the State Department senior officials. Means, they are not interested to interfere although a few US newspapers played it up.
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A few days before Prime Minister Najib Razak sets his trip to attend the United Nations General Assembly, the opposition, Bar Council and even Umno 'sour grapes' were excited over the possibility of him being arrested over 1 Malaysia Development Berhad and that RM2.6 billion political fund 'scandal'.
Oooppsss! Zahid, who is Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister also chided some BN leaders, especially whom I would like to describe as Umno 'sour grapes' for heating up 1MDB issue by questioning the credibility of Bank Negara Malaysia, the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and other authorities in conducting full investigation on the matter.
Their thin confidence in this entities had prompted them to go around the globe, lodging reports with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and also in Singapore and few countries. And when Najib was not 'touched' in New York, they got frustrated, very frustrated that they resorted to other character assassination tactics.
WASHINGTON: Not a word was raised about 1Malaysia Development Bhd, not even by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, at meetings between Malaysian and US officials this week, according to deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.Zahid, on a working visit to sign a visa waiver agreement, said he had held meetings with the Secretary of State, John Kerry (pic), and officials of the Central Intelligence Agency and the FBI.“Nothing on 1MDB was raised by the FBI or John Kerry or any party that I met when I was in Washington,” he said when asked about media reports that the FBI had started investigations into 1MDB. “(1MDB) is not a big issue to them at all,” he said.Zahid said he had met the deputy director of the FBI (Mark F Giuliano) and senior officials. “Not even a word mentioned on 1MDB,” he said.With him at the meeting was Malaysia’s ambassador to the US, Dr Awang Adek Hussin, and home ministry secretary-general Alwi Ibrahim.Last month, reports in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal said the FBI had begun investigations into 1MDB and linked them to Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was said to be “facing a grand jury investigation”.Zahid said: “I don’t know where the news came from. I’ve met FBI and other parties..the matter did not crop up.” Speaking with Malaysian journalists on Friday, he said: “Maybe the issue is big as it is shouted about in our country because it is used as a political issue.”
The US is not interested in 1MDB issue. They have better things to do and other priorities. Their two-way relation with Malaysia is more important than meddling in 'unsure and unfounded' Malaysia's domestic matters.
Bernama reports, the willingness of the United States' administration to have close cooperation with Malaysia in matters concerning terrorism, cross-border crime and visa exemption will open a new era in bilateral relations.
Zahid said Malaysia saw the positive attitude of the US leaders on the Putrajaya administration following the conclusion of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations in Atlanta recently.
However, this development did not mean Malaysia should 'kow tow' to the US, he told a group of Malaysians who had gathered at the grounds of the official residence of the Malaysian Ambassador here in conjunction with the National Sports Day celebration on Saturday morning.
"Good friends should not kow tow but they appreciate our contribution especially in resolving the problems of terrorism, cross-border crime," he said.
At the same time, he said Malaysia respected relations with the other major world powers, especially those countries which were closer neighbours.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that while at the US administration centre, he could feel the respect accorded during his meetings with several US leaders.
"Although we are a small nation while the US is a major power, the feeling of respect exists and we see the chemistry in the discussions that they appreciate what is being done by Malaysia," he said.
Among Zahid's programmes here is the signing of the HSPD-6 Homeland Security Presidential Directives No.6 with the US Secretary of State John Kerry, aimed at enabling Malaysia to participate in the US visa exemption programme.
Prior to Ahmad Zahid's visit here, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, together with several other cabinet ministers, had attended the major sessions at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York while International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed was in Atlanta to conclude the TPP negotiations.
Commenting on the TPP to Malaysian journalists later, Ahmad Zahid said the US understood and respected Malaysia's policy which must be protected when the cooperation came into force.
As such, the Deputy Prime Minister said there should be no doubt from anyone in Malaysia that the rights which were enshrined in the national policies would be ignored.