Hisham: It’s wrong to say royals reject Najib
‘They would have been candid if they had truly lost confidence in the PM.’
(Free Malaysia Today) – As pundits speculate on the significance of the Malay rulers’ expression of anxiety over the 1MDB scandal, Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein says it would be wrong to interpret it as royal disapproval of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s leadership.
Speaking to reporters today, Hishammuddin said it was in fact “not necessary” to extrapolate on Tuesday’s statement by the Conference of Malay Rulers, in which the royals directed Putrajaya to ensure a thorough probe into 1MDB’s affairs and the punishment of wrongdoers.
He claimed that the rulers would have been candid if they had truly lost confidence in Najib.
“If they don’t believe in the Prime Minister, if they really believe that it is something that should be raised, I believe they would say it outright,” he said.
“Certain parties are trying to interpret this themselves. That is a speculation and an assumption that it is not necessary.”
He said it was “not fair” to “put words in the mouth” of the rulers.
Yesterday, ousted deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin released a statement saying he was relieved that the rulers had seen it fit to raise the 1MDB issue.
He said Najib was the appropriate person to heed the rulers’ call.
“The responsibility of solving the issue is ultimately shouldered by the Prime Minister himself,” he said. “He must ensure that investigations into 1MDB by the relevant agencies are done in a transparent, fair and unbiased manner, without interference from any party.
“If the investigations find that certain parties have broken the law, legal action must be taken immediately without fear or favour.”
