Re-imagining China's role in the 1MDB cover-up : Chatham House paper presents China as an innocent bystander to Najib & UMNO's schemes, not an active player

by Ganesh Sahathevan


(From left) Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, Low Taek Jho and Jasmine Loo. - NSTP/File pic
IGP: 1MDB scandal fugitives hiding in China

A recent UK Chatham House paper titled 
Debunking the Myth of ‘Debt-trap Diplomacy’: How Recipient Countries Shape China’s Belt and Road Initiative, concludes among things: 

-In Sri Lanka and Malaysia, the two most widely cited ‘victims’ of China’s ‘debt-trap diplomacy’, the most controversial BRI projects were initiated by the recipient governments, which pursued their own domestic agendas. Their debt problems arose mainly from the misconduct of local elites and Western-dominated financial markets. China has faced negative reactions and pushback in both countries, though to a lesser extent than is commonly believed, given the high-level interests at stake in the recipient countries.

While no one denies the Najib-Goldman-Jho Low-1MBD nexus, China's role in the cover-up is well known, and well understood, but not it seems to the authors of the Chatham House paper.

China's active role in the 1MDB cover-up and the additional debt laden on Malaysians has become even more evident in the past few months. Starting with the most recent revelations:

World's Biggest Bank - China's ICBC - Now Has HUGE Questions To Answer Over 1MDB

OUTRAGE! - Najib's Secret Deal With China To Pay Off 1MDB (And Jho Low's) Debts! - SHOCK EXCLUSIVE

How A Kuwaiti Royal Sheikh Jailed A 1MDB Whistleblower Whilst Laundering China Kickbacks For Najib - EXCLUSIVE

Loans to and from IPIC, China may be clawed back : Implications of not obeying Malaysia's External Loans Act 1963

Jho Low, 1MDB fugitives hiding in China, says IGP

Jho Low hiding in Macau, says IGP


Malaysians would of course be aware that the Najib era saw a relaxation of controls on Chinese investment into Malaysia which had been in place since at least the 1960s, when China supported Chin Peng and the Communist Party Of China.

China's recent 1MDB-Belt & Road loans have confirmed the reasons why the controls were put in place in the first place ie to ensure that China did not on its own and with the cooperation of local Chinese businesses gain control of the Malaysian economy. 


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