Since its July 2 article detailing the now-infamous RM2.6 billion money transfer into Prime Minister Najib Razak’s personal bank accounts in 2013, The Wall Street Journal has the international media’s self-appointed watchdog on all things pertaining to Malaysian politics, even as Najib threatened to sue the paper and its parent company.
In the December 29 issue of its print edition, the financial paper doubled down on its position, placing its latest article on the Najib administration, 1MDB and the Money Network of Malaysian Politics, on its front page:
The article, co-written by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, reiterates most of what the WSJ has already reported on the Najib administration’s alleged acts of corruption, particularly in regards to sovereign investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and the still-mysterious RM2.6 billion money transfer.
WSJ‘s report also links Najib once again to Malaysia billionaire Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, who was himself the focus of an expose by the New York Times in February for his allegedly shady real estate dealings in the United States, reportedly at the behest of Malaysian political elites.
Wright and Hope focused once again on the impact the RM2.6 billion money transfer, which was made two months before the 13th General Elections in 2013, had on UMNO’s internal machinations and Malaysian politics as a hold, alleging that the money, which Najib has repeatedly said was “not for his personal gain”, helped back up UMNO and Barisan Nasional election promises and paid for the ruling coalition’s generous pledges to constituents, through BN-controlled charitable foundations and 1MDB’s corporate social responsibility arm, Ihsan Perdana.
It remains to be seen if the Prime Minister will refer once again to his lawyers to address this latest WSJ report and take the newspaper and its parent, Dow Jones & Company, to court, after his legal team decided against pressing charges in a US court.
Najib’s deputy, Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, has already urged Malaysians not to pay heed to the WSJ‘s “unverified” reports, and said that Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was well underway with its own investigation into Najib’s alleged wrongdoings in relation to 1MDB.
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