KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak has instructed his lawyers to seek foreign legal advice on the most appropriate legal action against the Wall Street Journal over its articles on the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) issue.
The prime minister's counsel Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun said he received the instruction to seek experts outside and inside Malaysia yesterday on the heels of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) revelation that the RM2.6 billion deposited into Najib's account was from a donor.
On Monday, the anti-graft watchdog issued a statement that the money was not from 1MDB.
Hafarizam said the advice to seek legal experts was due to the WSJ failing to state its stand on its July 2 and 6 articles that USD700 million(RM2.6 billion) of 1MDB money was deposited into Najib's personal account.
On July 23, the WSJ avoided stating its stand on the articles when it replied to Najib's letter seeking clarification whether the articles are implying that he misappropriated 1MDB money.
"One of the issues to be looked into is that of jurisdiction," Hafarizam said on one of the issues that legal experts could consider in order to help Najib decide on the next legal course of action.
On July 2 and 6, WSJ published the articles "Malaysian Leader's Accounts Probed" and "Scandal in Malaysia" respectively.
On July 8, Hafarizam's legal firm issued a letter to WSJ that gave the New York-based company 14 days to clarify its stand as the articles were "a plethora of convoluted, scurrilous and vague allegations against our client".