The Day Najib Offered To Make America Great Again

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Desperate times call for desperate measures - even if you happen to be the prime minister.
For acute problems, extreme measures are required and attest to the adage that “desperate diseases must have desperate remedies”. Sometimes, one’s actions that may seem extreme under normal circumstances may appear appropriate during adversity.
Against this backdrop, how does one get the monkey off his back? In desperation, some see praising and offering some kind of incentive could appease the offended party.
Cash is king would certainly come to mind - but how do you deal with the US, the most powerful country in the world? You can’t flaunt money and offer it like candy to children but someone did try and paid heavily for it.
Five years ago, this month – Sept 12 to be exact, former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his entourage landed in Washington with a proposal for the then US president, Donald Trump, at the White House.
“We want to help you in terms of strengthening the US economy,” he told Trump which synced with Trump’s own slogan of “making America great again”.
Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak (right) with then US president Donald TrumpNajib offered to buy more planes from Boeing, increase investments from the Employees Provident Fund and for Khazanah Nasional Bhd to upsurge its investments in high-tech companies.
To each of the proposals, Trump could only grunt “great”.
Whether the offers made had materialised is not known but what Malaysians know is that Najib’s visit was trumpeted as a great success.
Bernama reported triumphantly, quoting a White House official as saying that after the meeting, Trump accompanied Najib to the door to send him off, instead of them departing at the main floor where the president would normally send off visiting leaders.
“Trump was reminded by one of his officers of this, but he (president) told him that he will accompany Najib downstairs to depart. Trump said ‘he (PM) is my friend’,” the agency quoted the official as saying.
Back in Kuala Lumpur, the local juggernaut swung into action. Letters were sent to various organisations and political parties to welcome Najib on his return home. A large crowd was at the airport to receive him.
But DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang was quick off the block when he asked: “Why is the five-minute 58 seconds transcript of the Trump-Najib exchange in the White House cabinet room so humiliating for Malaysians, as the tone and tenor of the exchange did not sound like one between two equals representing two sovereign nations, but like those between a monarch and a chieftain of a vassal state bearing gifts, like bunga mas to the sovereign?”
Lim Kit SiangHe was right. There was much more - a cepu mas (jackpot) of US$75 million (RM330 million) was offered to a top Republican donor close to Trump from Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) - the man at the centre of the 1MDB scandal if he could get the US to stop its investigations.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Elliott Broidy, a long-time Republican donor and his wife, Robin Rosenzweig, discussed setting up a consulting contract with Low, citing emails that the publication reviewed.
One email showed a proposal that would have given Broidy and his wife US$75 million (RM330 million) if they could get the Justice Department (DOJ) to drop its probe into 1MDB.
Broidy also prepared talking points for Najib for that meeting with Trump. Some of the talking points included talking up Malaysia’s relationship with the US in fighting North Korea and arguing against the legal pursuit of 1MDB.
Just before GE14, the New York Times spilt more details- Broidy, among others, was accused of using his White House connections to try to organise a golf game between Trump and Najib and was indicted.
Broidy’s attempts to curry favour with Najib through the golf date were seen in direct and insistent communications with the White House.
According to the newspaper, for Trump, a golf date with Najib could have fuelled criticism that the president is indifferent to the appearance of corruption since the 1MDB was being investigated by the DOJ for kleptocracy.
Elliott BroidyOn Oct 21, 2020, Broidy pleaded guilty to a charge that he had illegally lobbied Trump to drop an investigation into the 1MDB scandal.
At a hearing before Washington DC federal judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, Broidy pleaded guilty to a felony charge that he conspired to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Prosecutors alleged that Broidy received millions of dollars in payments to try to arrange the end of a US investigation into billions of dollars embezzled from 1MDB.
On Jan 21 last year – Trump’s last day in office, Broidy was granted a full pardon. His name appeared on a list issued by the White House of 143 individuals who had been granted pardons or reduced sentences.
But the penchant for spin doctors did not end there. In March, at the height of the trial of former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng, Najib had reportedly hired New York-based firm Karv Communications to manage his portrayal in the trial and provide media relations support. 
Washington DC-based news outfit Politico quoted a Karv spokesperson saying the firm will “help ensure Najib’s actions and views are understood by US journalists and presented accurately in any US media coverage — including during the trial of Roger Ng”. 
According to the report, Karv will serve as a sub-contractor to Najib’s Malaysian lawyer, Tania Scivetti, for an initial two months — for which the company would earn US$140,000 (RM586,000) along the way. 
This whole episode is another blot in our dark history when an attempt was yet again made with money to cover the billions that were stolen from Malaysia and change the course of justice.
These events cannot be erased and will be constant reminders of the pink diamonds, Birkin bags and the extravagance which are associated with 1MDB, Low, Najib and his family.
As we tighten our belts, all Malaysians, especially our leaders have to be constantly prompted of the ills of their predecessors.
To the politician who espoused that stealing is not an offence until you get caught, the long arm of the law encompasses the far corners of the earth.
Catching the culprit has become easier, with all the technological advancements that mankind has made. Not just electronic transfers and cashless cards but there is a whole gamut of information on wrongdoings out there.
It is just a matter of when it catches up with you. - Mkini
R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist who writes on bread-and-butter issues. Comments: [email protected].
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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