Government Statement on Wall Street Journal Article
A Malaysian Government spokesperson said:
“As stated by the Attorney General of Malaysia, the funds received were a donation from Saudi Arabia.
“This has been verified by multiple lawful authorities who conducted exhaustive investigations. This included Malaysian authorities travelling to Saudi Arabia to examine documentation and interview members of the Royal Family and officials that administered the donation. The Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia has also confirmed that the funds came from Saudi Arabia.
“it is therefore telling that the Wall Street Journal, and its sister entities, are continuing their attacks and trying to link 1MDB to the donation. They keep repeating the same old allegations without providing evidence; they keep relying on anonymous sources that might not even exist…. This is unethical and against accepted journalistic practice….
…. willing vehicle for political actors seeking to damage the PM…. politically motivated….PM’s economic plan working … etc…
This ‘government statement’ produced in the PM’s absence by his right hand communications guru, ex-APCO PR man, Paul Stadlen, is ridiculous.
It claims that the latest story on the origin of Najib’s RM2.6 billion (ascribed to the AG) is that it is “a donation from Saudi Arabia”.
Before, it was a ‘Middle Eastern Royal”, then a “King”, then a “Prince”… now they are claiming it was the State of Saudi Arabia!
The statement goes on to attack the Wall Street Journal for allegedly providing no evidence for its conclusion that the money came from 1MDB, which readers know is quite untrue – what happened to the missing $2.4bn from 1MDB that went to a fake Aabar account in the BVI?
Meanwhile, Najib and his government have not provided a single shred of evidence to back their own changing claims, complaining that WSJ are “repeating the same old allegations” – what is wrong with consistency, as opposed to coming up with a new story every week, backed only by veiled statements from reluctant officials in the pay of the PM?
Stadlen is doubtless doubling his charges by the minute, but Sarawak Report supposes that he has a provisional first class flight booked on every plane now leaving KL… at some stage he will be jumping on one.
Let’s hope he is picked up for questioning over his complicity in these matters on arrival at Heathrow – for once he would do well to avoid the free drinks.