Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein gave a terse answer to a claim that the director-general of the Defence Staff Intelligence Division received money from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak about a month before the last general election:
"I have nothing to hide."
Stressing that the role of his ministry is clear, in that it is responsible for looking after the country's security, Hishammuddin pointed out that the military has "never been political".
"So, if there are moves to investigate, let the agencies investigate," he said at a press conference at the Subang Royal Malaysian Air Force base today.
"Let the investigations (be conducted) because we are not in the business of spinning this and making speculations. But I have nothing to hide.
"So, if there are things that seem off in relation to certain allegations, prove them and let investigations be conducted."
Hishammuddin also said that he was not able to confirm whether the money was indeed paid or not.
"If I confirm or don't confirm, because I'm the minister of defence, they (other quarters) will raise some other issues, also. So let a third party investigate."
He, however, said that he was not in the know whether investigations have been conducted into the matter.
Whistleblower site Sarawak Report had claimed that Najib paid RM7 million to the director-general of the Defence Staff Intelligence Division on April 8, 2013.
Sarawak Report said Abdul Hadi Hussin, who occupies the role, could explain why the defence intelligence was receiving a personal cheque from the prime minister.
The Defence Staff Intelligence Division is the joint military intelligence agency of the Malaysian Armed Forces. It reports directly to the chief of the Armed Forces.
Sarawak Report claimed that the figures on the transactions came from the joint task force that had investigated 1MDB since March 2015 until it was abruptly disbanded, five months later.
1MDB had stated that no money had been misappropriated from the fund.
Najib has also consistently denied any wrongdoing and said the billions of ringgit found in his bank account was a donation from the Saudi royal family.
He was also cleared of any wrongdoing by attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali.- Mkini
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