`


THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT ALLAH
read:
MALAYSIA Tanah Tumpah Darahku

LOVE MALAYSIA!!!


 


Wednesday, July 8, 2015

WSJ UNFAZED BY NAJIB'S LAWYERS, IGP: Stands by its 'fair & accurate' coverage of this evolving story'

WSJ UNFAZED BY NAJIB'S LAWYERS, IGP: Stands by its 'fair & accurate' coverage of this evolving story'
Malaysia investigators visited the Kuala Lumpur headquarters of 1Malaysia Development Bhd. and removed documents from the state investment company at the center of allegations of improper fund transfers to the prime minister.
Officials from a task force looking into the claims related to premier Najib Razak were provided with “a number of documents and materials to aid with the investigations currently taking place,” 1MDB said in a statement.
The comments came as lawyers for Najib sent a letter to the Wall Street Journal and as police announced an investigation into its reports that funds apparently wended their way into the premier’s bank accounts. The letter relates to two reports by the newspaper this month that about $700 million may have moved through government agencies and companies linked to 1MDB.
Police also started a probe under the computer crimes act over the possible release of details related to the alleged transfers, police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in a mobile phone text message.
“We stand behind our fair and accurate coverage of this evolving story,” Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. said in an e-mailed response.
The crisis is the biggest to hit Najib since he came to power in 2009 and has contributed to a fall in the ringgit
The crisis is the biggest to hit Najib since he came to power in 2009 and has contributed to a fall in the ringgit. His deputy has called for the claims against him to be fully investigated, and the allegations come as Najib’s popularity with voters has declined amid concern over his handling of the economy.
‘Very United’
The ringgit was little changed Wednesday after it weakened below the 3.8 a dollar level this week at which it was pegged from 1998 to 2005. The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index dropped 0.9 percent, joining a slump in Asian stocks as Chinese shares extended a rout.
Still, Najib retains broad support among division heads alongside rank and file members of the ruling coalition, and some ministers have publicly backed him, saying the probe should be allowed to run its course. Najib has called the claims he received funds part of a campaign of political sabotage aimed at ousting him.
Senior members of the government are united behind Najib, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told reporters on Wednesday in Putrajaya after the premier met with Cabinet members.
“Cabinet ministers were very united and want the due process to take place, which is currently being investigated by the task force,” he said. “It’s too premature to comment on stepping aside and there was no such calls from the ministers.’
Legal Letter
The task force comprises the central bank, police, anti-corruption commission and attorney general’s office. On Tuesday it announced a freeze on six bank accounts believed linked to the money trail and obtained documents related to 17 accounts from two banks. A statement from the task force didn’t name the banks or say who the accounts belong to, and it has given no indication how long its investigation will take.
The freeze orders did not involve any accounts allegedly held by Najib, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said on Wednesday in a statement. Abdul Gani said his office would prosecute anyone found to have leaked confidential investigation-related information as it’s a criminal offense.
The letter from the lawyers representing Najib criticizes the Wall Street Journal’s reports and asks the newspaper to clarify if it is alleging the premier was involved in the misappropriation of funds related to 1MDB, according to a copy obtained by Bloomberg News. The letter is from law firm Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak.
‘Strict Instructions’
‘‘This is not a straightforward legal case due to national and international imputations,” Wan Azmir Wan Majid, a partner at the law firm, said in a statement. “We have been instructed to identify facts and lay full facts before our client is able to proceed with further instructions.”
“Once our client has obtained all the necessary facts and the position of the WSJ is ascertained, we have strict instructions to immediately exhaust all legal revenues and remedies.”
Financial woes at 1MDB led it in February to announce plans to wind down much of its business. A month later the government ordered the Auditor-General to verify 1MDB’s accounts, and Najib asked investigators to expedite the process in May. The Auditor-General has completed an interim report and will submit it Thursday to a parliamentary committee that’s also probing 1MDB.
In other countries, political leaders would step down from their position and apologize for such a scandal, former premier Mahathir Mohamad, one of Najib’s most outspoken critics, said in a blog post Tuesday.
“Only in Malaysia there are people who defend their leader without reason, only to preserve their own position,” he said. Mahathir, 89, who led the country for more than 20 years until 2003, has repeatedly called for Najib to resign in recent months, prompting a public rebuke from Najib. - bloomberg

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.