When Member of Parliament Liang Teck Meng (BN-Simpang Renggam) claimed in the Dewan Rakyat that Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had stashed away RM332 million in 20 banks in four countries, including Israel, he almost brought down the house.
Quoting anti-secrecy organisation WikiLeaks, Liang said the Permatang Pauh MP was said to have a treasure-trove of US$66 million (RM209 million) and SGD$49 million (RM123 million) in 20 banks in the United States, China and Singapore besides Israel, reported Bernama yesterday.
"This information went viral on the Internet. And when I read this, I wondered where this money comes from," he said when debating the motion of thanks on the royal address.
Liang said that all accounts had detailed particulars of the holder's name, position and passport number as well as the date the account was opened and the maturity date. The government should investigate the matter as one of the accounts was opened in Israel where Malaysia had no diplomatic relations, he said.
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Tian Chua (PKR-Batu), who was the first to come to Anwar's defence, asked Liang to provide proof to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to enable an investigation.
"We've been pursuing our struggle for 15 years and we didn't even get a single sen. If our leader is so rich, we also want to know about it," he added.
Jeff Ooi Chuan Aun (DAP-Jelutong) said if Liang failed to provide proof, he should be taken to task by the Rights and Privilege Committee.
Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) interjected and challenged the opposition to sue WikiLeaks for posting the information.
Liang ended the debate by criticising Anwar for opening a bank account in Israel as this showed that he had reneged on his stand against the Israeli invasion of Gaza. "When the prime minister tabled a special motion condemning the Israeli invasion of Gaza last year, Permatang Pauh together with PAS and the DAP condemned the incursion. But behind our backs, he has an account in the country concerned," said Liang.
The sitting continues today
