COMMENT | Media freedom on a spinning wheel with denials, threats

COMMENT | In July 2015, a reaction from a supposed defamatory article published in a US-based newspaper made the front page of every newspaper in the country because it involved the then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

“Najib: I will sue,” said the headlines quoting his lawyers, Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak, who said it had been instructed to consider action against the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) if there is evidence of a conspiracy against him.

The law firm said in a statement that since the article involved several parties, they were instructed to consider “joint action, or action against, in the event evidence shows a conspiracy against our client.”

Quoting documents from a government probe, the WSJ reported that “Malaysian investigators have traced nearly US$700 million (RM2.6 billion at that time) of deposits into what they believe are the personal bank accounts of Najib.”

It was not the first time Malaysians heard of missing money from 1MDB as opposition leaders, notably the then Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, had levelled similar accusations against Najib.