(July 15): With Malaysia under a cloud of scandal and controversy, DAP today asked if the Cabinet would step up and provide the leadership the country badly needed.

Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said the nation was currently going through the "worst of times" with scandals involving state-linked entities such as 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and Majlis Amanah Rakyat's (Mara) controversial overseas property purchases, as well as the recent Low Yat Plaza fracas.

"In these troubled times, Malaysians are desperately looking for leadership. Is it to be found in the Cabinet?" he asked in a statement today.

He said it was obvious that Malaysia had a cabinet and ministers who did not lead but instead were being blindly led towards a "national dead end", citing at least five times the cabinet had gave "blank cheque approval" on 1MDB.

The Gelang Patah federal lawmaker said this included in early March when the auditor-general was called to verify 1MDB's accounts, then two months later when the cabinet approved the roadmap to restructure the state investment firm.

He also referenced the Cabinet’s discovery that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, as finance minister, was the final approving authority for 1MDB's deals as prescribed under the company's Memorandum and Articles of Association (M&A).

Lim also cited the Cabinet's decision on the two Wall Street Journal reports on 1MDB on June 19 and July 3.

"Today’s Cabinet meeting is the final one before the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festivities. Is the Cabinet finally going to provide leadership or are there at least some cabinet ministers who are prepared to put their heads on the chopping block to provide leadership for the country in great distress?" he asked.

Lim said the Cabinet's decisions on four issues, namely 1MDB scandal, Mara's property purchases, the Low Yat Plaza brawl and the changing of dates for the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2015, would be barometers as to whether Malaysians had a cabinet of ministers to be proud of.

Lim also asked if the Cabinet would reprimand Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah for saying that the auditor-general's interim report on 1MDB found no evidence of wrongdoing by the company or proof that US$700 million went to a "certain individual".

He also demanded that a Royal Commission of Inquiry into 1MDB and WSJ reports be formed and led by three former leaders, namely former prime ministers Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Ahmd Badawi and former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam, to replace the special task force currently probing the matter.

He said the Cabinet should also resolve that Najib should publicly confirm or deny the WSJ reports, especially if Najib had three personal bank accounts in AmBank and whether billions of ringgit were deposited into these accounts.

Najib should also state where the money had come from and what it was used for, Lim added. – The Malaysian Insider