Indonesia's premier current affairs magazine Tempo is standing by their article on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor's lavish lifestyle entitled 'Hidup mewah sang perdana menteri'.

Tempo senior editor, Purwanto Setiadi ( pix ), said the magazine believes its sources for the story and although from secondary means, they (the sources) were vetted carefully before the said article was published.

“Like previously, we choose our sources (of the news) carefully. As of today, we believe in the source which was used,” he said when contacted by  Malaysiakini .

Purwanto, who is the magazine's editor for international news, was commenting on Malaysian ambassador to Indonesia Zahrain Mohamed Hashim's statement that he wanted to meet Tempo editors to correct alleged misconceptions contained in the article.

Purwanto, who is also on Tempo 's editorial board,  pointed out their article had also quoted the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office (PMO) as dismissing the sources for the article as used by Tempo .

However, Purwanto said if Zahrain or the Malaysian government had other versions, Tempo was open to publishing it.

Step-son's luxury properties

Zahrain, Purwanto added, was welcome to visit the magazine's office again, his second visit after a recent one.

“It is an honour if he comes occasionally,” said the senior editor.

Tempo had reported on the lavish lifestyle of Najib and Rosmah in a special issue following the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Asia- Africa Conference currently being held in Banding, Indonesia for which Najib flew in today to attend.

The write-up touched on Rosmah's ( centre, pix above ) penchant for luxury handbags and jewellery and Najib's step-son Riza Aziz's wealth used to purchase luxury properties in the US.

The article also mentioned Rosmah's RM1,200 hairdo expense.