Najib rejects WSJ report, blames Dr Mahathir

A screengrab of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s latest Facebook posting. – July 3, 2015. Datuk Seri Najib Razak has come out to reject what he termed as unsubstantiated and outrageous allegations against him and his family, saying he had never taken funds for personal gains from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) or any other entities.

In his latest Facebook posting, Najib said the false allegations were part of a concerted campaign of political sabotage to topple a democratically elected prime minister.

He added that these attacks began when he refused to implement Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's personal demands, adding that the former prime minister then “created a crisis” by recklessly claiming that RM42 million was missing from 1MDB.

"The latest allegation is that I have taken state-linked funds for personal gain.

"I believe Tun, working hand in glove with foreign nationals, including the now discredited political attack blog Sarawak Report, is behind this latest lie.

"Let me be very clear: I have never taken funds for personal gain as alleged by my political opponents – whether from 1MDB, SRC International or other entities, as these companies have confirmed," Najib wrote on his Facebook page.

This posting comes in the wake of claims by The Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report that investigations into the debt-ridden 1MDB had allegedly uncovered billions of ringgit pumped into Najib's personal accounts.

The documents show that US$700 million (RM2.67 billion) was moved among government agencies, banks and entities linked to 1MDB and finally ending up in the prime minister's personal accounts in five separate deposits, the WSJ said.

Both quoted from documents from the 1MDB probe carried out by the Malaysian government, with Sarawak Report saying the attorney-general was also aware of the information.

The prime minister wrote today that until now, there was no evidence to back the allegations made, saying instead the claims were based on leaked documents and unnamed investigators.

He added that not once has the source of these documents ever been shown, neither have the documents themselves been provided for verification by lawful authorities.

"As we now know, a number of the documents on which recent allegations have been based were reportedly doctored.

“The person who was leaking these documents is under investigation by authorities overseas for attempting to extort and blackmail his former employer.

“This says a lot about the reliability of the documents, and those who are using them to damage our government and our country," Najib said.

He was referring to the Thai police’s arrest of a former IT executive Xavier Justo from PetroSaudi International (PSI) who had purportedly tampered with information linked to 1MDB.

Najib warned that those who continued to mount these attacks must be prepared to face the consequences of their actions, adding that this “gutter politics” to overthrow the government was bound to fail.

"Where appropriate, they will be met with the full force of the law," he wrote, adding that he would remain focussed on building the nation for the people.

Earlier today, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that local media should not accept such documents as genuine unless verified by appropriate authorities, following the exposes by the WSJ and Sarawak Report.

1MDB is the subject of inquiries by a number of authorities, including the auditor-general, Bank Negara, police and the bipartisan Public Accounts Committee.

Najib, who is also finance minister and chairs 1MDB's advisory board, has come under severe criticism in recent months over a number of issues, including that of 1MDB which has amassed RM42 billion in debts after just six years of it being set up. – July 3, 2015.