Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak today questioned The Wall Street Journal' s intention in alleging that the money that went into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's private banking accounts came from 1MDB or its subsidiary.

He said WSJ was making the same allegation despite the fact that attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali had cleared Najib of any wrongdoing and that the funds came from the Saudi royal family.

"As Malaysians, we should accept the decision made (on 1MDB). I don't understand why they ( WSJ ) continue to repeat the allegation.

"Certainly, they ( WSJ ) may have some ulterior motive to do this. What is the agenda, I would like to ask? We cannot afford to be politicking as we should be focusing on the economy and giving Malaysians more job opportunities."

Salleh added that the country should move on.

He said he was of the opinion that Najib was the first prime minister who had allowed himself to be subjected to investigations and gave his full cooperation.

Surely, he added, what Najib had said was accepted by the MACC.

“MACC has scrutinised Najib's statement and compared it with other evidence and they in turn prepared the report and gave it to the AG. He found there was no offence committed. It is clear there was none,” he said.

Salleh was speaking to reporters in Kuala Lumpur after signing a memorandum of understanding with his Singaporean counterpart Dr Yaacob Ibrahim in the areas of information and communication.

He was asked to comment on WSJ finance editor Ken Brown's assertion that based upon the business paper's investigation, the money did not come from Saudi Arabia but from 1MDB.

Do not overdo disagreement

Brown had in an exclusive interview with ABC News Australia on Feb 12 refuted attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali's claim that the money deposited into Najib's private accounts was a donation from the Saudi royal family.

"Our reporting has shown for months now that the money did not come from the Saudis, but it came via a bunch of companies and bank accounts related to 1MDB.

“And as you know, our story hasn't been called into question yet and we have loads of evidence to back that up," Brown told ABC's Beverley O'Connor.

Salleh said various quarters may disagree as this was a democratic country but they should not overdo it.

“We cannot remain not believing with the decision made by the AG. What about the decisions made by the AG and his predecessors from Merdeka time? We cannot only be satisfied when the decision falls in our favour.

“When the decision does not fall in our favour, we become angry. This should not happen. We have a transparent judiciary and a legal system and when something has been investigated and a decision made, we have to accept the decision,” he said.

Asked whether he or Umno would recommend that the PM sue WSJ, Salleh said that he would leave it to Najib's discretion.

On the move to freeze foreign labour intake, Salleh said he welcomed the move and urged Malaysians to grab the job opportunities available.