— P Ramakrishnan
The Malay Mail Online
July 7, 2015

JULY 7 — Mere denials do not establish one’s innocence. Evidence must be established to dispel and nail false accusations and unfair allegations.

Unfortunately, denials are the only form of defence resorted to by people who are put on the spot whenever they are accused of corruption. They fail to understand that mere denials do not clear their name or safeguard their reputation.

This is something the Prime Minister must be mindful of. So must his coterie of supporters who mindlessly come to his rescue by denying and condemning others without any solid evidence to convince Malaysians that there is no shred of truth in what was claimed.

In his Facebook page, the Prime Minister wrote, “Let me be very clear: I have never taken funds for personal gain as alleged by my political opponents — whether from 1MDB, SRC International or other entities, as these companies have confirmed.”

We do not wish to contradict the Prime Minister. But it would have served his cause well if he had addressed the glaring questions staring at him and crying for honest answers.

It would have been helpful if he had, for example, commented on the private accounts that had been attributed to him in AmIslamic Bank Bhd in Kuala Lumpur into which billions of ringgit had been paid into.

1. These refer to the following account numbers quoted by the Wall Street Journal:

(a) Account number 2112022011880 (AmPrivate Banking) was quoted by WSJ as belonging to “Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Bin Hj Abd Razak” at AmIslamic Bank in Kuala Lumpur;

(b) Account number 2112022011906 (AmPrivate Banking) was mentioned by WSJ as also belonging to “Dato’Sri Mohd Najib Bin Hj Abd Razak” at AmIslamic Bank; and

(c) Account number 2112022009694 (AmPrivate Banking) is yet another account registered in the name of “Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Bin Hj (sic) And Razak” at AmIslamic Bank in Malaysia;

Mr Prime Minister, are these your personal accounts? And do the names identified with these accounts refer to you?

If you had simply said that these were not your personal accounts and the names associated with these accounts do no refer to you — that would have carried great weight in support of your innocence. Regrettably, you did not say that!

2. It has been stated that RM2.6bn had been paid into these personal accounts. You could have simply stated that this money was not paid into your personal account. Regrettably, you did not say that!

3. Malaysians are wondering if any money was paid into your accounts at all. If none had been paid into your personal account, you could have honestly said that no money was paid into your personal account at any time. Regrettably, you did not say that!

4. It is a mystery as to what had happened to this vast sum of money paid into these accounts. How was it disbursed and how was it spent? Where did this money go to? Who were the beneficiaries? Regrettably, you did not say that you had no knowledge of it.

5. People tend to believe that there can be no smoke without fire! And as long as you do not address the specific issues raised above, people will remain sceptical and cast doubt over the wishy-washy explanations provided so far.

You have threatened to sue the WSJ. But it must not be a mere threat. You must really sue the WSJ to prove your innocence.

You must immediately send a legal notice demanding that the WSJ must immediately retract their false claims and apologise to you. This will be a clear indication to the public that you are serious in defending your integrity.

Yes, Prime Minister, you must sue the WSJ. You have no other option!