MP: Is the whole world out to topple BN?

Allegations that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) was out to topple BN as the ruling party was invalid because they were not the only country investigating matters related to 1MDB, said Kuala Terengganu MP Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad.

"The US is not the only country that has taken legal action against 1MDB, countries like Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and a few European countries have all taken similar legal action.

"Does it make sense that all these countries all hope to topple the Malaysian government?" asked Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah in a statement today.

Aside from the three DOJ civil forfeiture suits, Singapore, Hong Kong and Swiss monetary authorities have all fined banks involved in transactions linked to 1MDB.

Last week, the Luxembourg Financial Sector Supervisory Commission (CSSF) fined Edmond de Rothschild private bank RM43 million for regulatory lapses in relations to 1MDB.

Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah was unconvinced that these countries were plotting against Malaysia because all the countries he mentioned were reputable global financial centres.

"If they have done something wrong, (they know) Malaysia will take legal action against them and this will destroy their reputation.

"(Yet,) there are people from the government, their supporters and religious advisors who have denied the accusations and have asked for tabayun," he said.

Tabayun is the Islamic principle to check and verify information before accepting something as true.

Attempts to discredit DOJ

Of late, BN leaders and cabinet ministers have attempted to discredit the DOJ's allegation that money had been misappropriated from 1MDB, while some had claimed that suit was an attempt to challenge the country's sovereignty.

This has prompted swift accusations of slander and a conspiracy has been swift, among them by Deputy Home Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan who criticised DoJ for implying Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's wife had committed wrongdoing.

The law firm representing the prime minister's wife Rosmah Mansor has also warned of action against those who made false allegations against its client on social media.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Azalina Othman Said had expressed her disappointment that certain quarters were "gullible enough" to believe the DOJ suit.

Umno information chief Annuar Musa has alleged DOJ's pursuit of 1MDB assets was part of a conspiracy to end Muslim rule in Malaysia, citing Yemen and Iraq as examples of such US intervention.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had chimed in by suggesting that the international probes on 1MDB-linked assets were akin to foreign meddling.

Umno Cheras division chief has accused the opposition of slander, labelling them "Umno's enemies" for making Rosmah a "sacrificial lamb" in the DOJ suit.

A commentary on the BN Backbenchers Council (BNBBC) portal has claimed news portal Malaysiakini fabricated certain claims and attributed it to the DOJ suit and thus influencing international media.

In response, the DOJ has stressed that the suit contained all relevant facts, not insinuations, for reasonable belief to be established during trial.

The US Embassy also denied such suggestions that the DOJ's suit amounted to intervention because it was aimed at recovering the assets, which were to be returned to the affected country.- Mkini