by Wong Choon Mei
In a carefully worded written reply to DAP MP for Segambut
Lim Lip Eng, Minister in the Prime Minister's department Nazri Aziz pussyfooted
around a RM24 million diamond ring that was allegedly imported by First Lady
Rosmah Mansor or by her cronies, wishing to stay in her good books by gifting
her with a fabulous gem.
But strip away the frenzied denial attempts and the
co-ordinated press releases by the government-controlled medai, the facts that
stand are firstly, the ring was real and not a figment of PKR Rembau chief
Badrul Hisham Shahrin, as Najib boldy tried to imply when he gave an interview
to Indonesian newspaper Kompas.
Secondly, Nazri said the ring was in the country for only a
few days, and this lend credence to speculation that it had been brough in to
for a special private sale or viewing by Rosmah and her clique in their version
of a high-end tupperware party.
In the written reply, this is what Nazri wrote:
"The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Comission (MACC) has
referred the matter to the JKDM and JKDM has confirmed that there was no such
purchase of the ring. After a few days, the ring was returned to the company
which owns it."
Badrul had loged a report on the ring, asking the MACC to
probe for abuse of power and possible corruption, while Najib had denied he and
his family were in anyway involved with the gargantuan diamond ring that many
including Kompas said was worth not RM24 million but USD24million.
Telling
only what they want the public to know
Nowhere in the letter did Nazri deny the existence of
a printout of the Customs database showing that the ring was brought in by one
Jeremy Beh Sin Tee for the inspection of H.E. Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor.
Why then did Najib and Rosmah try to deny the existence of
ring?
Opposition leaders were not not convinced with Nazri's
explanation, accusing him of only telling the part of the story that he wanted
and the full truth of the matter.
"Why did the Customs
allow the ring to come in for just a few days and in such a manner? Were all
regulations adhered to? Did Rosmah use her influence to get the Customs to
allow the ring to be brough without tax being filed even for a few days? What
if someone bought it here and sent it away a few days later as Nazri has
claimed it was?" PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia
Chronicle.
"You see, there are more questions than before because
the PM's office is still trying to hide the facts. Until they issue provide
full and relevant details, it is hard not to keep the pressure up. At the very
least, it looks like there may be some abuse of power by high-up authorities.
It is not ususal to bring in a ring of such value for a few days? For what?
That is the question?"
Denial
opportunity for MSM but more questionmarks than before
Badrul had last month revealed that MACC officers had
interviewed until 3am the cargo company's operations manager, A Krishnan, at
the KLIA over the diamond ring. He said it was apparently to find out who had
leaked the news of the ring.
“I am not satisfied as it
does not answer the mystery behind the ring. After this reply, MACC should have
enough evidence to prove that the print-out is authentic, otherwise they would
not have questioned A Krishnan till the wee hours of the morning in their
investigation,” Badrul told Malaysia Chronicle.
There has also been speculation that the ring was a gift from
a wealthy Chinese tycoon or from Maira Nazarbayev, the mother-in-law to be of
Najib's daughter Nooryana. Jakarta daily Kompas had also dropped the bombshell
that Maira, who frequents Monte Carlo, the playground of the rich and famous,
had links to the Russian mafia.
"As you can see, all
that Nazri's statement has done is to confirm the such a ring really existed,
and of course, to provide the mainstream media with an excuse to shout the
headlines Customs confirm ring does not belong to Rosmah, but
actually all that Nazri said was that Customs confirmed that that the ring came
in, was not imported by Rosmah and left the country after a few days,"
said Tian.
"But who the importer is, we already know from the
print-out by Badrul, so it doesn't clear up anything. The thing is, was it
meant as gift for Rosmah, did she bring it in for a private sale? From what
Nazri said, Customs did not deny Rosmah's involvement in the transaction,
which now looks more shady than before. There are more questionmarks than
before."
Source : MC
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