THE expressions of “regret” and “distress” on the acts or omissions of its employees by Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon ring hollow to Malaysians and people of other affected jurisdictions if any.
A fee of US$588 million for raising US$6.5 billion in bonds was an excessive fee and must surely have drawn attention at the very top of Goldman Sachs.
This hollow apology is simply not good enough for us.
There have been several statements and calls from different quarters for recompense. However, no one put it into sharper perspective than our prime minister when, in his usual candour, he said that we have been “cheated” through the complicity of Goldman Sachs.
There have been calls for the return of the fees paid by us to Goldman Sachs. To my mind, such a claim for simple restitution is far from sufficient.
Not only has Goldman Sachs unjustly enriched itself but, prima facie, Goldman Sachs appears to be guilty of a whole array of transgressions, starting with innocent vicarious liability, going through breach of fiduciary duties and ending with blatant, outright fraud; causing Malaysians such loss and damage that went far beyond the fees we paid.
That said, much depends on the terms that were agreed to by our former leaders, the applicable law and the forum conveniens.
Recently Malaysians were heartened to hear our attorney-general express his plan to set aside the doubtful Consent Arbitral Award of US$5.78 billion in favour of the International Petroleum Investment Company.
Now we call upon our attorney-general to lead Malaysia into battle against Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs should not be allowed to get away with mere restitution.
We know that although legally we may be on the right side of the law, the “big money men” who control the levers of power worldwide may well be a tough hurdle to overcome.
Nonetheless, we say: “Go, Tommy Go – Goldman Sachs is not too big to fail”.
Watson Peters
Kuala Lumpur
