To recover and preserve all that was stolen from 1MDB Malaysia needs a Guatemalan style International Commission Against Impunity - International Commission requires cooperation with the UN, and might well be Anwar Ibrahim's opportunity to lead the way

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

                                                     Anwar Ibrahim can do better than debate Najib Razak who has been convicted of crimes related to the 1MDB theft

                                                        

The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) was created in December 2006 through an agreement signed between the government and the UN, with the mandate of identifying and disarticulating illegal organizations and clandestine security apparatuses (CIACS). 

Over a period of 12 years since its establishment in 2007, CICIG has achieved numerous victories in prosecuting corrupt politicians, businessmen, judges, and law enforcement officers, as well as in reforming legal and judicial institutions in Guatemala. CICIG represents an experimental approach to the fight against impunity and corruption in weak and failed states, with the aid of international anti-corruption and law enforcement experts¹

In 2016 the US Department Of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had exercised its powers pursuant to its Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative to seize assets acquired with funds misappropriated from Malaysia's 1Malaysia Development Fund (1MDB). The DOJ has declared that the seizures have been the largest ever recovered under that initiative 

Since the seizures Malaysia has seen three prime ministers come and go. Seized assets have been returned to the country but it is now thought likely that the politicians involved in the theft are likely to return to power. Meanwhile, much more remains to be recovered.

A  Guatemalan style  International Commission Against Impunity seems the likely solution but of course it would have to be a Malaysian Government initiative. The politically fractured nature of the country is not conducive to such an initiative, but however a concerted effort led by the Leader of the Opposition, Anwar Ibrahim, might just gain sufficient support from  members of the current  Malaysian Parliament. 

Anwar has promoted himself on the world stage as both an internationalist and a champion against corruption. This might well be his moment.

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