The Malaysian Insight

THE prime minister was the third to speak tonight, after the Saudi foreign minister and Najib Razak, on the matter of the RM2.6 billion found in Najib’s bank account in 2014.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad dismissed Najib’s avowal earlier tonight that the money was from a Saudi donor.

“As far as we know it (the money) comes from 1MDB,” Dr Mahathir said in a press conference at Bersatu headquarters.

The Bersatu chairman said it was on the Pakatan Harapan government to find out where the money had come from.

“What is important is documentary proof that the money comes from 1MDB or from Saudi. You cannot transfer huge sums of money without record. 

“If they say it is from Saudi, show the record. If not from Saudi, we have to find out where it comes from.” 

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Ahmed Al-Jubeir told his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah today that Riyadh had nothing to do with the money.

The Saudi minister also met with Dr Mahathir in Putrajaya today. 

Dr Mahathir said Adel had flipflipped on his statement. 

“First of course he said Saudi Arabia had got nothing to do with it. After meeting Najib, he said money came from Saudi Arabia but now he denies it.

“I didn’t ask him why but he says that it is not true, that’s all,” Dr Mahathir. 

Former prime minister Najib wrote on Facebook tonight that he had already explained in a post last month, along with photos of letters and bank transaction slips, that the money was from the Saudi Arabia’s Finance Ministry and that he had returned it four months later.

Bernama reported tonight that Adel, who visited Wisma Putra today, told Saifuddin that the Saudi government has got nothing to do with the RM2.6 billion donation .

But in 2016, Adel had said in an interview that the money was a donation from the Saudi royal family.

In July, after Najib’s Barisan Nasional government was defeated in the 14th general election, Adel told The New York Times that he did not believe the funds were from the Saudi government.

“It was a private Saudi citizen, I believe, and the funds went to an investment in Malaysia,” Adel was quoted as saying.

Najib is facing 38 counts of criminal breach of trust, money-laundering and misuse of power over the RM2.6 billion, which prosecutors charge did not come from the Saudi government but from 1MDB. – October 26, 2018.