Leaders urge public to remain calm
(The Star) – Although the allegations made against the Prime Minister are serious, it was not right to vilify him solely on the basis of unverified foreign media reports, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi echoed his views and questioned the authenticity of the documents purportedly seen by the Wall Street Journal.
Hishammuddin said like all Malaysians, he too wanted to know the truth behind allegations implicating Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in the 1MDB money trail.
“I agree these are serious allegations. But the public should remain calm and let the special task force comprising the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the police and Bank Negara complete its investigation into the allegations,” he said.
On July 2, WSJ shocked the nation with controversial articles claiming RM2.6bil was channelled into what it believed was Najib’s personal bank accounts.
Hishammuddin, who is the Prime Minister’s cousin, urged all parties to stop speculating, as it would only make matters worse and also challenged those making the allegations to show concrete evidence.
Hishammuddin said Najib had already issued a statement to clarify the matter.
“I stand by him and support his firmness in taking action against those making baseless allegations,” he said.
Dr Ahmad Zahid questioned whether the documents were real. “Do they even exist? Who are the unnamed investigators who supposedly traced movements of money?” he asked.
He said independent cyber security firm Protection Group International had confirmed that information published pertaining to the 1MDB money trail should be regarded as “unsafe and unreliable”.
Describing allegations and insinuations levelled against Najib as “irresponsible”, he said such reckless journalism was close to committing a criminal offence.
Dr Ahmad Zahid said over the past months, there appeared to be attempts to undermine confidence in the Malaysian economy and its democratically-elected government.
