Don't believe slander aimed at toppling a leader, says Rosmah

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's wife Rosmah Mansor has reminded Malaysians not to fall for slander which is deliberately spread to engineer the downfall of a leader, organisation or even a nation.

“To spread their dirty campaign, (the perpetrators) use social media as their primary weapon to confuse and influence the minds of the people.

“The people who are slandered continue to be victims and society is frightened with false claims,” she said in a speech during an event at the Defence Ministry in Kuala Lumpur today.

Rosmah's reminder comes in the wake of the United States Department of Justice's (DOJ) latest 1MDB-related court filing, which mentioned the wife of Malaysian Official 1 (MO1).

Previously, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman confirmed that the MO1 mentioned in the DOJ's first suit last year was Najib.

In its latest filing yesterday, the DOJ claimed that a portion of the US$620 million which MO1 had purportedly returned to his “donor” was used to purchase a 22-carat pink diamond pendant and necklace for MO1's wife for about US$27.3 million.

The DOJ also accused businessman Jho Low of purchasing 27 different 18-carat gold necklaces and bracelets for MO1's wife, worth a total of US$1.3 million.

Najib has repeatedly denied abusing public funds for personal gain and blamed such allegations on those conspiring to topple him from power.

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali has also cleared the prime minister of any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Rosmah, in her speech, also emphasised on the need for peace and reminded her audience that conflicts should not only be viewed from the perspective of those which involve the use of weapons.

She stressed that cyber warfare has the potential of disrupting peace.

Rosmah also urged Malaysians to scrutinise the facts before believing the allegations and slander hurled at leaders.

“Therefore, in this context, I call upon Malaysians not to be gullible when it comes to slander, which is twisted on social media.

“Malaysia is a country that is developing at a fast pace, and we must prepare the people to become a thinking society,” she said.

The fact is, she added, slander is a crime because it concerns the concoction of a false claim with the intention to tarnish an individual's reputation and credibility.- Mkini