Who gave you embargoed documents, Najib asks Chin Huat

Najib Abdul Razak has asked political analyst Wong Chin Huat who gave him the embargoed Election Commission's redelineation proposal report.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, the former premier also questioned if there was any punishment imposed on Wong for breaking the embargo.

“Who gave him the embargoed documents for him to reveal last year?

“The then speaker (Pandikar Amin Mulia) rejected his offer to pay the RM1,000 fine for breaking the embargo which is an offence under the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952.

“But was he punished in any other way?” asked Najib.

Najib was responding to Wong (above), who said if Najib wanted to follow his example of breaking the embargo, then he should do so to the letter.

“Offer to pay RM1,000 fine to the (Dewan Rakyat) speaker. Don't just follow halfway,” he had said.

This is after Najib posted a screenshot of a news report on Wong breaking the embargo by releasing the report at a public forum before it was tabled in Parliament.

Yesterday, the former premier was referred to the parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee for allegedly breaking the embargo on the Felda White Paper, a day before it was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.

During the debate, opposition leader Ismail Sabri Yaakob claimed the Felda White Paper had been uploaded onto the official Parliament website before Najib posted extracts from the same document onto his Facebook page.

Another BN lawmaker, Ahmad Maslan, argued that if the documents were uploaded onto the website before Najib's post, then the embargo was void.

The White Paper – titled "Towards a Sustainable Felda" – was given to lawmakers a day before the April 10 Dewan Rakyat debate.

An embargo note was attached to the front cover of the document to remind lawmakers not to make the contents public before the date.

On Tuesday, Najib uploaded a snapshot of the White Paper and revealed that a "put option" was included in Felda's purchase of a 37 percent stake in Indonesia's Eagle High Plantation.

During the winding-up of the debate, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Liew Vui Keong, who tabled the motion to refer Najib to the committee, explained that only the titles of the White Paper's contents were uploaded on April 9.

The motion was later approved with 86 votes for and 33 votes against. - Mkini