KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan is prepared to refund all 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) monies if the government can show proof the party received funding from the beleaguered state investment arm.
Party president Datuk Dominic Lau said this following Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s call to MCA to return funds channeled to it from 1MDB.
Lau affirmed that they were willing to refund the money in full should there be proof the party had received funding from 1MDB in the past.
“(But) of course we need black and white transactions to prove 1MDB gave Gerakan money,” he said at a press conference held at the party's headquarters, here, today.
Lau further confirmed that the headquarters “at this moment” did not receive any such money directly but could not speak for states or branches.
“(On) that we are not aware. We have 300,000 members and we (headquarters) do not interfere in the accounts of the branches and the state,” he added.
On how much the party, formerly part of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, had received in funding from the coalition's former chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak from 2013 until now, Lau claimed “he had no idea.”
“You have to ask the former (Gerakan) presidents. I have only been president for 53 days,” he added.
He further said that the present government has not asked the party to disclose its accounts.
“But we are willing to cooperate if they do,” he added.
Several parties under BN were alleged to have received RM470 million from then prime minister Najib's personal account for the purpose of campaigning for the 13th General Election (GE13) in 2013, as reported by a newsportal.
It was also alleged that Kedah Gerakan and the BN service centre in Taiping received RM200,000 and RM100,000 respectively.