David Cameron to raise Malaysia corruption claims
(The Press and Journal) – “If there are issues it’s better to be there talking about them, asking about them, than turning away and looking away.”
David Cameron will challenge his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak over allegations of corruption which have triggered a political crisis in the country when the pair meet today.
The Prime Minister, who has used his tour of south-east Asia to speak out against the “cancer” of corruption, will press ahead with the visit despite calls from some Malaysian opposition politicians for him to cancel it.
Speaking in Singapore on an earlier leg of his regional tour, Mr Cameron insisted that nothing would be off the table in his discussions with Mr Najib and the best approach to tackling corruption was not “turning away” from it.
Mr Najib, who has faced allegations that he received about 700 million US dollars (£448 million) in government money, has sacked both the attorney general who had been investigating him and his own deputy, who had been a prominent critic.
Leaked confidential documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal allegedly show the money, from state investment fund 1MDB, went into his personal accounts.
Mr Najib, who has claimed the attack against him is politically motivated, has not disputed the existence of the accounts or the receipt of the funds but has insisted he never used government funds for personal gain.
