Malaysian lawyer embroiled in 1MDB saga and MYAirline probe alleges political persecution by PM Anwar

Mr Rosli, who together with his firm Rosli Dahlan Sarvana Partnership (RDS Partnership) are currently locked in a legal wrangle with the MACC over the 1MDB matter, declined comment for this article over his detention by the police in the MYAirline and i-Serve Online Mall probes.

But in an affidavit filed on Oct 26 in the Malaysian High Court to contest the demands for the 1MDB-related documents in the MACC investigation, Mr Rosli maintained that he was a victim of “political persecution” in the ongoing confrontation between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and former premier Mr Muhyiddin.

Mr Rosli claimed that PM Anwar had attacked the Muhyiddin government for the write-off of debts at state-owned plantation company Felda Holdings and the 1MDB recovery settlement with an “underlying theme” that the former premier and his “cronies had plundered the country’s assets”.

RDS Partnership is the law firm representing the opposition Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), the political vehicle that Mr Muhyiddin heads, and Mr Rosli is the personal lawyer to the former premier, who is facing corruption and money laundering charges in court. 

During the Muhyiddin premiership, Mr Rosli played the role of legal trouble-shooter for the government and figured prominently in several dispute negotiations tied to 1MDB. 

“These political attacks have recently changed focus to target the firm (RDS Partnership) and I, as I was seen to be the lead advisor for the defence team of Muhyiddin and the main counsel for the civil cases by and against Muhyiddin and Bersatu,” he said in his affidavit.

Mr Anwar has publicly declared that the US$3.9 billion settlement reached by the previous Muhyiddin-led administration with Goldman Sachs in August 2020 was poorly negotiated. 

He has also signalled that  the government is determined to force the US banking giant to return to the negotiation table with the view of squeezing more money in the form of compensation for the central role played by the financial institution in arranging US$6.5 billion in 1MDB bonds that turned out to be elaborate schemes to embezzle funds.

Mr Rosli was involved in the negotiations with Goldman Sachs together with a Malaysian government team led by former finance minister Tengku Zarul Aziz, who is currently the Minister of International Trade in the Anwar government.