Umno minister defends Najib, slams WSJ for ‘malicious’ report

Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan today accuses the Wall Street Journal of being unprofessional over its report that 1MDB channelled funds into Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s bank accounts. – Twitter pic, July 3, 2015.

Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan became the first Umno minister to defend Datuk Seri Najib Razak following damning exposes by Sarawak Report and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on billions of ringgit being pumped into the prime minister's bank accounts.

Rahman, in a series of tweets via his Twitter handle ‏@mpkotabelud, slammed WSJ, saying he was shocked over the allegations which had only used an "unnamed investigator" as a source of information.

"I am shocked by WSJ's wanton allegation. If they were dead serious about the authenticity, the reports should have named the sources," he tweeted.

"I sure hope WSJ was not using malicious and tampered documents in their report. That would be a sad day for journalism.

"Quoting 'unnamed investigator' as a basis of a very defamatory report, WSJ has sunk to the level of gutter journalism of Sarawak Report."

The Kota Belud MP also took up a wager from a follower who said he would bet RM500 that WSJ's source was Sarawak Report.

"@mpkotabelud RM500 I say the AWSJ source is the Sarawak Report," said Twitter user Capt Rahmat.

Rahman replied: "I'll see your RM500, and raise you RM1,000!"

WSJ and Sarawak Report claimed today investigations into the debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) had allegedly uncovered billions of ringgit pumped into Najib's personal accounts.

Both quoted from documents from the 1MDB probe carried out by the Malaysian government, with Sarawak Report claiming that the Attorney-General was also aware of the information.

Meanwhile, Domestic Trade, Cooperation and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Hasan Malek today advised the people not to easily trust the unverified (WSJ) when asked to comment on the issue.

Claiming that the report is unverified, Hasan refused to comment, saying all questions must be referred to the Finance Ministry instead.

"We must not trust something that is not verified. It's not healthy. If not verified there's no need for me to give a comment. For a comment you need to ask the Finance Ministry," he said at a press conference in Putrajaya.

- TMI