XAVIER JUSTO ALLEGATIONS: STATEMENT BY PRIME MINISTER’S PRESS SECRETARY

1.      For two years Tun Mahathir Mohamad has waged a campaign to unseat a democratically-elected government, all for selfish political gain to benefit his son Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir. When his campaign failed, Tun Mahathir shamefully called for foreign intervention in his own country. As part of this, he has used the partisan political blog Sarawak Report to influence major Western media.

2.      In turn, Sarawak Report has consistently spread false smears and malicious misinformation to Western media, some of whom have abandoned proper journalistic principles by publishing grave allegations based purely on claims from anonymous sources – all fed to them by politically-motivated parties.

3.      The latest example is Switzerland-based Le Temps publishing false allegations. They attribute these to unnamed anonymous sources, but in fact the smears were briefed to them by Sarawak Report. As part of a now familiar pattern, these "sources" failed to supply any evidence to back up their claims – because none exists.

4.      Contrary to what Le Temps published without any attempt at verification, at no point during the 6th Malaysia-Thailand Annual Consultation meeting did Prime Minister Najib Razak or anyone from the Malaysian delegation raise any matter relating to convicted blackmailer Xavier Justo. Malaysia does not sanction attempts to interfere with the internal affairs or judicial process of other countries. Furthermore, the Prime Minister was not accompanied by the individuals Le Temps named.

5.      The reality is that at the Annual Consultation meeting, security and joint efforts to combat extremism topped the agenda, while pacts on trade, economic growth for the people and inclusive development for Muslims in Southern Thailand were also signed.

‎‎DATUK SERI TENGKU SARIFFUDDIN
PRESS SECRETARY TO THE PRIME MINISTER
20 September 2016‎
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