‘Is Najib man enough to sue WSJ?’

Ariff Sabri notes that the company which owns the newspaper is in a combative mood.

PETALING JAYA: Raub MP Ariff Sabri has challenged Prime Minister Najib Razak to sue The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), now that his lawyers have received a reply to their letter seeking an explanation for allegations contained in articles carried by the newspaper.

Dow Jones, which owns WSJ, seems to be in a combative mood, Ariff says in his latest blog entry.

The letter from Dow Jones told Najib’s lawyers their request for clarification of a news item and opinion piece in WSJ was “unnecessary” as the articles “speak for themselves.”

Ariff ridicules Najib’s lawyers for seeking an explanation in the first place, saying that they should have gone ahead and sued WSJ.

“I hope they understand the reply,” he says. “Now go ahead and file a suit in the United States or Singapore (where WSJ has an office). We want to see how manly Najib and his lawyers are.”

Ariff believes the lawyers were merely trying to buy time for Najib. “Najib probably thought there would be time enough for the special task force headed by four Tan Sris to clear his name.” As it turns out, he notes, the investigation by the task force appears to be taking a long time.

He doesn’t rule out the possibility that the outcome of the investigation will be to Najib’s disadvantage.

However, he cautions the public against placing too much confidence in the integrity of the task force, noting that the authorities currently appear more interested in side issues, such as investigating minor characters like Swiss national Xavier Justo and the so-called confession of Sarawak journalist Lester Melanyi while leaving Najib alone.

“I hope the investigators are investigating the real issue, which is whether it is Najib who is the principal actor and main mover in the 1MDB financial scandal and the RM2.7 billion account-gate. If he is, does it justify the call for his resignation?” he says.

“This is the issue that should abide in the mind of the public. It’s simple. If Najib is no good, throw him out. It won’t be the end of the nation.”