KUALA LUMPUR – Tycoon Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew finally broke his silence after he was repeatedly mentioned by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak since late December.
Lee became a favourite topic after describing Najib as “a convicted criminal awaiting outcome of an appeal” when the former prime minister became the keynote speaker at the World Chinese Economic Forum (WCEF).
In an elaborate and snarky Facebook post today, the tycoon lambasted Najib for stooping to acts of “cyber-gangsterism” and using social media to divert attention from the 1MDB scandal and other court cases, where Najib was labelled a “national embarrassment” by the Court of Appeal.
It is weird for an ex-prime minister of Malaysia to resort to acts of cyberbullying, cyber-gangsterism and making use of social media in an attempt to divert attention from the facts and trying to whitewash his own crimes as convicted by the court, by continuing his strategy using the ‘malu apa’ campaign.”
Lee added that continuing to use the “malu apa bossku” moniker sets a bad precedent for the younger generation by giving them the impression that it is acceptable to not be ashamed of committing corruption, stealing money and being rude.
The property magnate reiterated that Najib’s tactics to “whitewash the court decisions would not work”.
I have noted the challenges from Najib, as well as all the continued harassment from the cybertroopers on social media, and I shall reserve all my legal rights as a citizen of Malaysia.
“I have never thrown any mud. Instead, it is the other way round.
“I have helped to fulfil the childhood dream (of Najib) of bringing the PGA official tour to Malaysia, and he had a good time with Tiger Woods.”
Najib has since uploaded several posts targeted at the businessman, with one hinting that Lee’s “dissatisfaction” was due to his association with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
In a Facebook post, Najib included a snapshot from the Companies Commission of Malaysia detailing that Lee and Dr Mahathir were partners in Palace of the Golden Horses Hotel and Flyjet.
In response, Lee reminded Najib that Dr Mahathir was once his mentor and helped him to become prime minister.
“Even if you don’t like him, you shouldn’t insult him. Tun is already 96 years old. I really sympathise with him,” he said, referring to Najib, who often refers to the two-time prime minister as “atok” on social media.
He then defended Dr Mahathir’s shareholding in the Palace of the Golden Horses Hotel.
“The hotel used to be one of the confidence symbols of the Barisan Nasional government and opened its doors in October 1997 to assist the government amid the storm of the Asian financial crisis, but couldn’t get any financial assistance from the government and was left in trouble when the rating agency unreasonably downgraded our 200 million bond from A-rating to Unsecured in 2004, despite (the fact that) the hotel has been successfully completed.
It was one year after his retirement that “atok” felt indebted and used his hard-earned savings to subscribe to one million shares through the public offer. This was public knowledge.
“Has Najib not bought any public shares before? Why use it for dirty tactics and cheapskate defamation?”
Lee ended the post by reminding Najib that no one is above the law, nor should one act like he is the law.
He said the world would not forget Najib’s involvement in money-laundering scandals, and the way forward is for Najib to ask for forgiveness and to cooperate with authorities to bring fugitive businessman Jho Low to justice.
“This will be the button to reset and rebuild Malaysia, to bring the country back to the right track.
“The stability of Malaysia must come from nobody being above the law. The Covid-19 pandemic and flood natural disaster is bad enough. But the infighting of the politicians, or the human disasters, these are even worse.
“Nobody is above the law. Only then can we bring back peace and harmony to rebuild Malaysia.” – The Vibes, January 8, 2022
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