Johari: Wrongdoers must answer for their misdeeds

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani (pic) has vowed not to come to the defence of any Umno leader found guilty of committing an offence.

Johari, who is the Second Finance Minister and also Titiwangsa MP said this while explaining controversies surrounding state-investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad at the opening of the Cheras Umno division meeting on Sunday.

"My principle is not to defend any leader found guilty of committing any offence that has cost the firm billions of ringgit.

"There is no value to my position if I conspire to defend any such leader and we should never forgive this individual," he said.

However, he was quick to say that one cannot be emotional in demanding action against any party without concrete evidence.

"We need to wait (for the investigation to conclude), because offences were also committed in foreign countries.

"This business transaction (of 1MDB) is very complex as it involves different jurisdiction, different countries and different laws," he said.

However, Johari said he holds on to the principle that one is innocent until proven guilty.

"We shouldn't accuse of anybody without any concrete evidence and we shouldn't use politics to topple any leader," he said.

Johari also took the opportunity to slam 1MDB's administration, saying the problems afflicting the state investment body was largely due to its poor business model and overall bad governance.

"The problem with 1MDB is that it is poorly managed. Mangkuk hayun (stupid).

"But let me be honest here. The weak management, despite being paid handsomely, will never admit mistakes when it occurs and it is us who have to answer for them," he said.

Despite this, Johari said that it was the Government's commitment to ensure that any party responsible would be held accountable for the losses, and that investigations should continue without undue influence.