WSJ and Sarawak reports have no respect for Malaysia

Prime Minister's Press Secretary Datuk Seri Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad today slammed the Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Reports for their deceitful reporting on the appointment of the new Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

Tengku Sariffuddin said it was a disgrace that the good name Of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had been dragged into certain foreign media's attacks on Malaysia.

"The deceitful reporting on important national events by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Sarawak Reports (SR) shows that they have no respect for our country, our sovereignty, or our monarchy," he said in a statement here today.

Tengku Sariffuddin said for over a month, both publications had maliciously reported that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had appointed his supposedly "1MDB linked ally" Tan Sri Irwan Serigar Abdullah to be the new Governor of BNM, despite the fact that no decision had been made.

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He added that both publications then reported that the Prime Minister had made a "U-Turn" following the appointment of Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim as the new governor, and fictitiously claimed that Yang di-Pertuan Agong had previously signed the appointment of Irwan, and was persuaded to change the nomination.

"Both his Majesty and Tan Sri Irwan have now publicly stated that this is false. His Majesty only signed one appointment - for Datuk Muhammad on April 26, 2016 - and Tan Sri Irwan was never offered the post," he said.

Current Deputy Governor Muhammad, 56, has been named the new central bank Governor to replace Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz who will retire end-April.

Muhammad who joined the central bank in 1984 and appointed Deputy Governor in June 2010, will hold the post for five years, effective May 1, 2016.

Tengku Sariffuddin said WSJ and SR could not give a shred of evidence to back up their reporting as it was not based on facts, but on anonymous sources who may not even exist.

Or they could just be another proxy for Tun Mahathir's Anti Najib Campaign, whose lies the WSJ and SR buy outright, he added.

Tengku Sariffuddin said it was time to call out WSJ and SR for their vindictive campaign against Malaysia.

Their lies are now proven, and Malaysians should know that nothing they print can be believed, he said.