PUTRAJAYA: An investigation must be carried out against The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) for taking sides in Malaysia’s politics and internal affairs, said the prime minister's press secretary Datuk Seri Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad.
In a statement, Tengku Sariffuddin said WSJ's latest report deliberately ignored key facts, and lied that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was not interviewed.
He said this in reference to the WSJ's report today which claimed that the prime minister was not interviewed by Malaysian investigators.
This, claimed the newspaper, showed that investigations clearing the prime minister of any wrongdoing were ‘undermined by political pressure and lacked transparency’.
Tengku Sariffuddin said it is a matter of public record, and was widely reported by other media at the time, that Najib was interviewed for multiple hours on Dec 5, 2015 by the primary investigative body, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“The Prime Minister gave his full cooperation to the investigators, and publicly instructed all relevant bodies in the government to do so as well,” he said.
He added that the recent reporting showed WSJ's biased agenda, and continuous consistent pattern by relying on anonymous sources, smears by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his new allies in DAP, including Petaling Jaya Utara member of parliament Tony Pua in the latest article.
"WSJ failed to give any evidence to the unverified lies, which are presented as facts similar to other multiple reports falsely claiming the Prime Minister had appointed Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Irwan Serigar Abdullah as the new Bank Negara Malaysia Governor," he added.
“Journalism should be about independently reporting news based on verified sources and facts.
“Instead, the WSJ has become a willing vehicle for the propaganda of the Prime Minister’s political opponents, who have openly declared their intent to unseat the democratically-elected government,” he said.