Umno leaders have come under fire for contradicting their liberal claims in light of the scandal surrounding Wall Street Journal ( WSJ ) allegations against Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Taking aim particularly at ministers Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and Umno supreme council member Abdul Rahman Dahlan, PKR Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said he was “disappointed and disgusted” at the duo’s “stubborn defence” of Najib.

“Their hostile reaction to the disclosures seems all the more strange when other, more senior Umno leaders like Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin very calmly and sensibly called for the matter to be investigated seriously. 

“Khairy and Abdul Rahman Dahlan’s behaviour suggest that they are more concerned about political expediency than the good of the nation. 

“Their supposed reputation of being ‘liberal’ notwithstanding, they are clearly not the kind of leaders that young Malaysians who want change should put their hopes in,” said Nik Nazmi in a statement today. 

Khairy and Abdul Rahman were among those who on the ' Friends of BN ' Facebook rubbished outright WSJ ’s expose last Friday alleging money from the debt-ridden 1MDB had been transferred into Najib’s bank accounts.

On Saturday, he defended Najib further saying rich politicians shouldn’t automatically be assumed to be corrupt.

"You look at a politician, you look at his lifestyle, you think he is living beyond his means.

"You then don't straight away go and have a press conference and say that guy is corrupt," Khairy told reporters on Saturday.

Institutional reform needed

Since the sensational expose was published, only two cabinet ministers , Muhyiddin and Rural and Regional Development Minister Shafie Apdal have explicitly expressed concern over the allegations and called for a speedy probe.

Nik Nazmi said the prime minister’s accounts needed to be “thoroughly investigated”.

“The pattern of malfeasance and the abuse of public trust that has marked the Umno-BN administration must stop once and for all. Anything short of this will simply not do. 

“Malaysians not only need a new government via the ballot boxes, but also institutional reform. 

“The public trust and exchequer cannot be abused the way it has been thus far any long,” he added.