Former Malaysian Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan must be bold and responsible in providing data and information to the editor of the Sarawak Report, Clare Rewcastle-Brown, linking PAS top leader receiving money from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Ambiga could not "throw a stone and hide her hand" on the matter by avoiding to meet the media.

"We have known Ambiga's attitude from before, that is being bold when she is at the back, (but) afraid when she is in front. She avoids a meeting with the press...no courage.

“If she has the courage with proof that she had given to the Sarawak Report, (she must) be brave...she need not hide to state the information. She must have the courage to be responsible for all the data and information provided,” he said.

He disclosed this at a media conference after a working visit and chairing the Second High-Level Meeting on National Security and Border Patrol at the new Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security Complex in Bukit Kayu Hitam for the first phase here today.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Home Minister, was commenting on the report in the portal The Malaysian Insight which exposed the reply and defence filed by Rewcastle-Brown by saying that she had spoken to Ambiga in July 2016 on Najib, 1MDB and PAS.

The defence was filed by Rewcastle-Brown in PAS president Hadi Awang's slander suit at the London High Court in April, by linking the article that claimed PAS had received a RM90 million fund as a reward for supporting BN.

The article in the Sarawak Report was titled "As Najib denies all over 1MDB let's not forget his many other criminal connections" published through the portal on Aug 6, 2016.

In this regard, Ahmad Zahid expressed his sympathy for PAS which he said should not be victimised over the matter which was untrue.

"If you want to play politics, do so in a courteous manner...this is totally incredible. All this while, whatever is written by the Sarawak Report is considered as the gospel truth,” he said.

- Bernama