A phone call I made to a Malaysian businessman after Rosmah’s apartment was raided in 2018 sums up how she was able to get so exorbitantly rich. This will take a few tweets.
Remember the 567 handbags found in her apartment in KL? Well this businessman’s name was on a bunch of the boxes stuffed with Birkins. He’d given them as a gift, and he was frantic.
I knew this businessman and had been on friendly terms with him. His wife, during a dinner at Joel Robuchon, at Resorts World in Singapore, had expressed grave doubts about Rosmah.
I thought he might be willing to help our reporting: https://t.co/f7XCEepfKF
We got on the phone, and I have to say he exploded with an anger that I’ve never experienced as a journalist either before or since. I was shaking as I got off the phone.
As I said, I’ve never seen such anger, and I’ve interviewed a failed Pakistani suicide bomber! Anyway, he was obviously very nervous about how his world was changing.
Hang on. I’ve got to find something for @bradleyhope from Billion Dollar Whale. He wants to tweet it.
Ok I found it. About Gollum and Rosmah from Billion Dollar Whale. Bradley will tweet.
Ok back to the story. This businessman, to win contracts, HAD to give these Birkins to Rosmah. The businessman’s wife clearly hated the situation. She had whispered her disquiet to me when her husband went to the toilet. But everyone was locked into the graft.
Ok Bradley has tweeted the best ever quote from BDW about Rosmah (which he couldn’t find because he doesn’t own a copy of his own book!) https://twitter.com/bradleyhope/status/1565252990298103808
The businessman got even more frantic, and he threatened me. https://t.co/wEDegU0Cb1
I’m not sure how the new PH government made it easier for him to lodge a police complaint against me for asking questions about how Rosmah’s corruption worked! But moving on…
This story shows how a democratic wave in Malaysia in 2018
didn’t lead this businessman to open up, and help me to uncover more about Rosmah. I’m fact it led to the opposite…
Under Najib and Rosmah, everyone was caught in this system, and when it collapsed everyone covered ass. His wife, and surely the businessman, knew it was corrupt. But what could they do…
Well, they could have done a lot. At the very least, when Rosmah was arrested, they could have supported journalists to uncover the facts. The businessman could have helped, like many brave Malaysians.
Why didn’t he? Well, probably because he thought the winds would change direction and Najib — and Rosmah — would come back to power. Perhaps they will. Perhaps he’s smart.
For now, though, it certainly seems as if Malaysia, a day after its national day, has turned an era-defining corner. Perhaps this businessman will change how he operates. Or perhaps I’m just a naive Mat Salleh.
This businessman was just one among many. Why do you think $250 mln in luxury items were found in Rosmah’s apartments? 14 tiaras, 567 handbags (272 or them Hermes), 423 watches, 234 sunglasses, 12,000 items of jewelry (one necklace worth $1.6 mln).
So, to sum up, dear readers, you’ll never guess the identity of the businessman. Could be any one of hundreds of people. You don’t get to QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS in luxury items from a few corruptors.
But he knows…End. 😉