Arrest Rahman over false news, Kit Siang tells police

Kit Siang says the BN strategist violated the law in saying there were plots to oust Najib.

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang has told the police to arrest Barisan Nasional strategist Abdul Rahman Dahlan for “publishing false news”, a crime under the Printing Presses and Publications Act.

At a press conference today, Lim referred to words that Rahman allegedly spoke in an interview with The Star Online and said he had caused to be published two pieces of false news – that there was currently an attempt to topple Prime Minister Najib Razak by criminalising him and that former attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail made an attempt to unconstitutionally grab power when he set up a task force to investigate 1MDB and the deposit of RM2.6 million in Najib’s bank account.

“These are serious assertions by a minister of the country, and must be considered as false news falling under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984,” Lim said.

Rahman is the Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government.

Lim suggested that the police carry out their investigations along three strands – whether or not there was a plot in the last days of July to stage a coup against Najib, whether or not there had been illegal and unconstitutional acts to overawe the Attorney-General from exercising his powers, and whether or not there was any basis for charging the Prime Minister for corruption.

“The police must move immediately,” he said, “and interview Abdul Rahman as the first suspect, as well as others, including the PM, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.”

Lim said he found it shocking that a member of the Cabinet would claim the special task force was “illegally constituted” and “was not supposed to be investigating the PM or any individual.”

He told Najib to enlighten the public about Rahman’s claim. “Clearly,” he said, “even the former deputy prime minister until July 28, Muhyiddin, never knew that the special task force was illegal and unconstitutional.”

He told Najib to “clear the air once and for all” as to whether there was a plot to topple him that was hatched from “within the bowels of the Cabinet.”