Malaysia's central bank governor has lodged a police complaint against the Wall Street Journal over the leak of a confidential document related to the investigation into alleged irregularities at state investment fund 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
"They (the police) will have to investigate. Publishing confidential documents under the Official Secrets Act is a very serious action on (its) part," Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Friday, Reuters reported.
Najib was replying to questions at a press conference if he would sue the Journal over its latest article on allegations involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
WSJ published an article on Thursday accusing that Prime Minister Najib had compromised under political pressure. It also published a classified letter from the Bank Negara to the head of the Public Accounts Committee which "confirmed" that Hong Kong-based businessman Jho Low owned Good Star Limited, a now-dissolved company that had been the recipient of funds from 1MDB.
If it is proved, the letter would contradict earlier statements by the government which showed that Good Star belonged to Petro Saudi International, a former joint-venture partner of 1MDB.
Earlier on Friday, Tengku Sarifuddin, the press secretary to PM Najib, called for an investigation into WSJ for "taking sides in Malaysia's politics and internal affairs."
He contradicted WSJ's recent report and said the prime minister was interviewed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Dec 5, 2015. He added that it was a matter of public record.
Sarifuddin told AFP that Najib "gave his full cooperation to the investigators, and publicly instructed all relevant bodies in the Government to do so as well".
