DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang today lamented PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's defence of the 1MDB scandal as having marred the holy month of Ramadan.

Lim in a statement today said this year's holy month had seen a number of unfortunate incidents ranging from Islamic State (IS) threats to the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) latest forfeiture suits filing linked to 1MDB.

“But the most unforgettable incident in Malaysia in the month of Ramadan must be the transformation of the PAS president, Hadi Awang, into an even greater champion and defender of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his 1MDB scandal than anyone else in Umno,” said Lim.

He was responding to Hadi's open letter to all political parties today urging them not to “cheer” when foreign countries' courts tackle 1MDB-related cases.

"Whatever the (courts) decision on our internal problems may be, let our own courts or our people's court resolve it.

"As stupid and cruel as our internal (systems) are, let us bear (the burden) ourselves, and in the end due to our patience, (those who do wrong) will surely repent," Hadi wrote in his letter.

The DOJ's suits to seize assets it claims had been acquired in the US using funds allegedly siphoned from 1MDB had previously cited an unnamed 'Malaysian Official 1' repeatedly in its court filings.

In its latest filing, the DOJ added mention of the wife of 'Malaysian Official 1', sparking a fresh round of outrage from the opposition and civil society.

The forfeitures form what the US calls its largest kleptocracy crackdown in history.

No to meddling but...

Hadi in his letter claimed the foreign action was meant “to meddle in national affairs simply to win elections”, parroting Umno's line of defence that the opposition is to blame for the DOJ's court action.

“DAP does not support any foreign intervention into Malaysia’s domestic affairs, but we cannot also justify Malaysia becoming a global kleptocracy,” said Lim.

“DAP is fortified in this stand because there can be no religion which supports corruption or a kleptocracy.”

Lim said the “concoction and dissemination of downright lies, falsehoods, fake news and false information” about the DOJ case has put a blemish on the holy fasting month.

This, he said, included claims Malaysiakini had fabricated the DOJ's mention of a US$27.3 million pink diamond necklace for the “wife of MO1” and the “shocking statement” by the Umno information chief Annuar Musa that the DOJ's money-laundering crackdown is “part of a conspiracy to meddle in Malaysia's affairs because the country had a Muslim-led government”.