GE14 | Caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has expressed sadness over the manner in which a veteran and principled politician is being hounded.

Referring to DAP's Tan Seng Giaw, he tweeted this evening that the eight-term lawmaker is suffering for “standing by the truth”.

“If this is how DAP treats one of their own, one wonders how they are going to treat their 'temporary' friends if ever they come to power?” he added.

Though he did not mention names, it was clear that the “temporary friends” referred to his former mentor-turned-nemesis Dr Mahathir Mohamad and other ex-Umno leaders in Bersatu.

Najib also tweeted a report by the New Straits Times, which quoted Tan telling news portal Berita Daily that he was now accused of being a “traitor” and labelled a “running dog”.

Tan, who was dropped as a DAP candidate for the coming general election, said that he was being targeted for stating there was no sufficient evidence to link Najib to the 1MDB scandal.

“What have I done wrong? By speaking the truth? They say I received Najib's money, I must be a billionaire now,” he added.

Tan, who was the former Public Accounts Committee (PAC) deputy chairperson, said he had read the auditor-general's report on 1MDB several times and did not find evidence of Najib's involvement.

“What do you want me to say? That Najib is guilty?

“Please. How can you say someone is guilty when there is no proof? What happens to the 'innocent until proven guilty' (principle)?” he asked.

The DAP veteran also denied Mahathir's claim that Malaysia was going bankrupt under the Najib administration.

“I am telling you the truth because I find out the truth myself.

“During the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forum last year which I attended, I received a report on Malaysia and read it. After Singapore, it is Malaysia and in Southeast Asia, our rank is quite high.

“Last month in Jakarta during the IMF conference, they said the same thing. I purposely asked them, 'don't you think the 1MDB scandal will drive Malaysia towards bankruptcy?' They replied, 'There is no such thing'.

“This is an international organisation. They don't owe us a living. Is IMF telling us a lie?” Tan asked.