Malaysia is in darkest of political times, says younger brother of PM Najib

The younger brother of embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has described the current political situation as the "darkest political times". PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

KUALA LUMPUR - The younger brother of embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has described the current political situation as the "darkest political times", saying the interests of the country and the people must come first.

"They gave their lives so we could build a nation. In this darkest of political times we must remember to place the country & the rakyat (people) first.

"Not personal interests, not personal loyalties, not even party politics,'' Nazir Abdul Razak wrote in an instagram posting with the picture of the National Monument.

The sculpture commemorates those who died in Malaysia's struggle for freedom, particularly during the nation's struggle against the threat of communism.

The comments by Mr Nazir, who is the group chairman of CIMB bank, came as Najib faces allegations in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that nearly US$700 million (S$942 million) was channelled into his personal bank accounts from government agencies and companies linked to state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The money was allegedly pumped in via Falcon Private Bank, a Swiss bank in Singapore, the WSJ said. Falcon is owned by the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), the state fund of Abu Dhabi. IPIC has guaranteed billions of dollars of 1MDB's bonds.

According to the report last Friday, the bulk of the funds were transferred in March 2013, with the balance transferred between December 2014 and March 2015.

Najib has accused his number one critic, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, of masterminding the allegations.

He told reporters on Sunday that he was weighing legal options and that if he were to embezzle money, it would not be channeled into his Malaysian account.

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