The United States embassy in Kuala Lumpur has dismissed a news report alleging that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s wife Rosmah Mansor had contacted ambassador Joseph Y Yun with the hope of calling off an investigation related to 1MDB.

In its report, the Asia Sentinel also claimed that its attempts to verify this through the US embassy went unanswered.

However, in an email communique to Malaysiakini , the embassy said it had no record of any inquiries from the Asia Sentinel regarding the matter.

“We have seen reports alleging that Prime Minister Najib’s wife called ambassador Yun multiple times.

“We do not comment on diplomatic discussions, but we can confirm Ambassador Yun has not spoken about the issues in the Asia Sentinel report with the prime minister’s wife,” it added.

Commenting on this, Minister of Communication and Multimedia Salleh Said Keruak criticised the Asia Sentinel for publishing an article based on rumours.

Access to Asia Sentinel in Malaysia has been blocked by the Malaysian Commission for Multimedia and Communication (MCMC).

Speaking to Malaysiakini, he described this as unethical journalism, where reports are published based on unverified claims.

Terming the article as “preposterous and unfair”, the minister questioned Asia Sentinel ’s motive in publishing such allegations without verification.

“Furthermore, was there an attempt to seek a response from her or Malaysian authorities regarding these claims?

“This article is based on allegations from unidentified sources and gossip. To me, this is just another attempt to tarnish the reputation of the prime minister and his wife,” he added.

Based on sources and talks “circulating widely in Kuala Lumpur’s small diplomatic circles”, Asia Sentinel said Rosmah repeatedly called Yun and others in the embassy to get US attorney Preet Baharara for the Southern District of New York to call off his investigation.

The article also claimed Yun told Rosmah that Bharara operated independently, and not even President Barack Obama would be able to influence the probe.

Asia Sentinel quoted a source as stating, “She (Rosmah) has been told, ‘If you have done nothing wrong, don’t worry about it. The United States is a country of laws’.”

Asia Sentinel alleged that while other international probes are being carried out, Putrajaya feared that it is the US which would initiate charges if there are any wrongdoings.

1MDB is the subject of probe in various countries such as Switzerland, Singapore, the United Kingdom and France.

However, the firm has denied allegations of wrongdoing and described such claims as being politically-motivated.

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