Najib’s personal accounts nothing to do with Muhyiddin, says propaganda unit

 Former deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is believed to have said in a leaked video that Datuk Seri Najib Razak admitted that US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) was transferred into his accounts. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, July 30, 2015.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak's personal bank accounts and its contents have nothing to do with former deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, said Special Affairs Department adviser Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz.

In a blog posting, he said any money that went into an individual's personal account was the right and privacy of that person and did not have to be declared to the public.

The statement from Putrajaya's propaganda unit adviser comes after Muhyiddin, in a leaked video, was heard saying that Najib had admitted that US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) was transferred into his accounts.

"The money that goes into private accounts, that is the right and privacy of the individual that does not have to be declared to the public. It is just like the money that is put into our own personal accounts," Tun Faisal wrote.

He said, however, that one would have to declare any money if it came from a "wrong source", but added that the person should only announce it to the investigators.

"It is different if there were claims that the money had come from a wrong source. Then only someone should make a declaration, but not to the public. He only has to make a declaration to authorities conducting the investigations.

"When someone transfers in a certain amount of money into another's private account to be used as political funds, that is political funds for the individual. It is up to him how to use it as long as it is not against the law," he added.

In the video, Muhyiddin appeared to inform his guests at his home last night that he had confronted Najib on The Wall Street Journal's (WSJ) report that US$700 million (RM2.67 billion) of funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad-linked firms were allegedly deposited into Najib's personal accounts.

Tun Faisal said that there was still no evidence showing that the money that was transferred into Najib's accounts had come from state-owned funds.

Earlier this month, WSJ and whistleblower website Sarawak Report reported that up to US$700 million (RM2.67 billion) was allegedly transferred from state-owned funds to two bank accounts under Najib's name in AmBank in March 2013.

The prime minister, however, has denied taking any funds from 1MDB for "personal gain" but has not commented directly on the fund transfers. His accounts that allegedly received the funds have since been closed.

- TMI