Zahid: Ambiga ‘cannot throw stone and hide her hand’

(FMT) – Former Malaysian Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan must be bold and accept responsibility for providing information to Clare Rewcastle-Brown, the editor of the Sarawak Report, which alleged that PAS leaders had received money from Prime Minister Najib Razak, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

The deputy prime minister said Ambiga could not “throw a stone and hide her hand” on the matter by avoiding the media.

“We have known Ambiga’s attitude from before, that she is bold when she is at the back, (but) afraid when she is in front. She avoids a meeting with the press… (she has) no courage.

“If she has proof of what she gave to the Sarawak Report, then (she must) be brave… she need not hide.

“She must have the courage to be responsible for all the data and information provided,” Zahid said.

He was speaking at a media conference after chairing the Second High-Level Meeting (HLC) on National Security and Border Patrol at the new Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex in Bukit Kayu Hitam.

Zahid, who is also the home minister, was commenting on media reports that Clare, in her defence statement to a suit filed in London by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, claimed she and Ambiga spoke about Najib, 1MDB and PAS in July 2016.

Clare’s defence was made in response to Hadi’s defamation suit against her, filed in April this year.

Hadi claimed he had been defamed in a Sarawak Report article published on Aug 6, 2016.

The article “reckoned” that money was given to woo PAS to support Barisan Nasional.

Zahid also expressed his sympathy for PAS which should not be victimised over the matter as it was not true.

“If you want to play politics, do so in a courteous manner… this is totally incredible. All this while, whatever is written by the Sarawak Report is considered as the gospel truth,” he said.