Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak finally broke his silence regarding the allegations that his younger brother Mohamed Nazim had coerced private investigator P Balasubramaniam to hush up.

NONE However, he dismissed the allegations as baseless.

When the question was posed during a press conference after the Umno supreme council meeting in Kuala Lumpur late this evening, Najib offered a brief response: "I don't entertain frivolous statements."

He was asked to comment on allegations by Balasubramaniam in a series of interviews which have been published on video sharing website Youtube.

In the interviews, Balasubramaniam alleged that Nazim and several other individuals had acted as proxies for Najib to compel the private investigator to retract his first statutory declaration.

NONE He also claimed that he was offered RM5 million by Nazim and another individual implicated in the case.

The statutory declaration contained damning allegations of Najib's relationship with slain Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu, which the premier had vehemently denied.

Balasubramaniam had retracted the statutory declaration within 24 hours under questionable circumstances and left the country with his family.

Despite numerous quarters calling on Najib to clear the air over the latest development, both the prime minister and his brother have remained tightlipped.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said that it has begun investigations into the issue.

Sulaiman wants to quit

In another development, Najib confirmed that Deputy Tourism Minister Sulaiman Taib has expressed his intention to quit.

However, he indicated that efforts are underway to dissuade the son of long-serving Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud from tendering his resignation.

sulaiman taib "He has stated his wish to step down from his position as deputy minister, but I have had some negotiations with the chairperson of Sarawak Barisan Nasional (Abdul Taib).

"A decision will be made, please be patient," he said, adding that Sulaiman made the decision due to personal reasons."

Rumours of Sulaiman's resignation have been circulating for several weeks, purportedly over his differences with Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen.

Other speculations involved the first-term MP's unhappiness over the appointment of former MAS chief executive officer Idris Jala as a full cabinet minister.