(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Public pressure on Malaysia's prime minister mounted Monday when a civil rights watchdog gave Najib Razak an ultimatum to address allegations that he pocketed $700 million in public funds € or risk a massive street protest.
Bersih 2.0 has demanded that Razak resign all government positions until he is proven innocent of claims that funds from the debt-ridden state-owned investment arm 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) were channeled to his personal bank accounts.
Maria Chin Abdullah, the civil electoral watchdog's chairperson, told a press conference that rather than denying the allegation blindly, Razak must support his innocence with details of the two bank accounts in question.
"He must first confirm or deny whether the two AmBank accounts exist. If yes, then show the transactions history," she said. "Be transparent if you are not [in the] wrong."
Referring to a special government taskforce appointed to investigate the matter, she stressed that a fair investigation would require freezing bank accounts belonging to Razak's wife, Rosmah Mansor, and their three children.
"The results of the investigations by the central bank, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the police on the corruption case must be disclosed to the public immediately," she added. "[It] must be done within the next month."
The Wall Street Journal and whistle blower site Sarawak Report released reports Friday quoting documents they alleged were from an ongoing 1MDB probe that claimed that the $700 million moved among 1MDB-linked government agencies, banks and entities, before ending up in Razak's accounts in five separate deposits.
The premier has insisted that he has not taken funds for personal gain as alleged by political opponents, whether it is from 1MDB, its former subsidiary the Finance Ministry-owned SRC International, or other entities.
On Sunday, he announced that he had referred the allegations to his lawyers as he considers taking legal action against the two publications.
Meanwhile, opposition parties have invited members of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and non-governmental organizations "disgusted with corruption" to join them for an emergency meeting in parliament Tuesday.
Democratic Action Party leader Lim Kit Siang said in a statement that the meeting would "consider the impact, implications and Malaysia's future as a result of the WSJ allegation and the Attorney-General's confirmation on the existence of document from a government special task force probe."
People's Justice Party (PKR) leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who called the meeting on Lim's behalf, said Malaysians were worried about the allegations.
"While we wait for a full report on the case, we should also prepare to face any eventuality," she said in a separate statement.
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