Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib said it was his right to defend himself as well as his family against the 'defamatory and completely untrue' report that was not substantiated with evidence. — File picKUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib has expanded on his decision to take legal action against PAS’s Harakah Daily over a report linking his stepson to 1 Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), saying he would never allow public funds to be misused.
Najib wrote on Facebook last night to say that while he accepts criticism as prime minister, he will not stand idly by when unfounded allegations are aimed at his family.
“I am aware of various allegations linking me and my family to 1MDB.
“I would like to emphasise here that 1MDB is a strategic investment firm owned by the government of Malaysia, and I would never allow anyone to use or divert public funds for their personal gain,” Najib wrote.
Earlier yesterday, he defended his decision to take legal action against Harakah Daily by saying that he did so because the PAS mouthpiece defamed his family.
The prime minister also said it was his right to defend himself as well as his family against the “defamatory and completely untrue” report that was not substantiated with evidence.
On Thursday, Najib’s lawyers delivered a letter of demand to Dr Rosli Yaakub, the managing director of Harakah.
The legal action was filed by Najib in his personal capacity over an article titled “Dana 1MDB biayai syarikat filem Riza Aziz? (1MDB funds used to finance Riza Aziz’s film company?)” that he deemed to be defamatory.
The Harakah article had questioned how Najib’s stepson Riza sourced funds to finance his company’s (Red Granite Productions) 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street”, and had alluded to a connection between 1MDB funds and said film.
Najib is chairman of 1MDB’s board of advisors.
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