Two of Malaysia’s main opposition parties have demanded an emergency sitting of parliament to discuss the future of prime minister Najib Razak as tensions mount over a report that linked him to investigations into alleged corruption involving state fund 1MDB.
A Wall Street Journal report published on Friday said investigators had traced nearly $700 million to bank accounts they believed belonged to the prime minister.
Mr Najib has denied taking any money from the debt-laden state fund or any other entity for personal gain and says he hasreferred “wild allegations” against him to lawyers and would decide any legal steps in a few days. If I wanted to steal, it wouldn’t make sense that I would place that money into accounts in Malaysia,” he told reporters. “Surely as a prime minister I would not betray Malaysians and property that belongs to Malaysians. This is my promise.”
Pressure mounted on Najib on Saturday after the country’s attorney-general said he had received documents from a task force investigating 1MDB that were “connected to allegations” that money was transferred into the prime minister’s account.
Members of Najib’s party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), have closed ranks behind the prime minister, who had already been on a back foot over the mismanagement of 1MDB and his handling of the economy. However, the DAP and opposition People’s Justice Party (PKR) sought to stoke the furore, urging the speaker of parliament’s lower house to call an emergency sitting. – (Reuters)