PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A video confession that allegedly implicates several opposition leaders and the Sarawak Report news portal of falsifying information to topple the Prime Minister has been handed to the police.
Barisan Nasional strategic communications director Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said he had seen the video in which a "mission to criminalise Datuk Seri Najib Razak and 1MDB" was mentioned.
The Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister said the video was part of evidence handed over by a local person when he lodged a police report on the matter at the Petaling Jaya district station on Wednesday.
Abdul Rahman said the video showed a confession by a person claiming to be directly involved in the publication and distribution of the falsified information contained in the Sarawak Report website.
"It implicates several opposition leaders who conspired with Clare Rewcastle-Brown and the Sarawak Report in the malicious plot," he said at a press conference. Rewcastle-Brown is founder of the news portal.
He said the man who lodged the report had shown him the video, which was about 10 minutes long.
"I was given to understand that the individual making the confession was a former editor at the Sarawak Report," he said.
Abdul Rahman said the opposition leaders and several UK nationals were named in the video.
Asked who these leaders were, he would only say that their names were already circulating in news on the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) controversy.
As for the UK nationals, Abdul Rahman said he would only issue a statement "if an official investigation is instituted by UK authorities".
He urged the police to have Interpol start investigating the foreign persons named in the video and "to prevent pertinent evidence from being removed or destroyed".
He said that other evidence handed to the police included a copy of an email message allegedly written by Rewcastle-Brown.
According to Abdul Rahman, the e-mail dated March 1 reads: "Thanks! Yes it was quite a job!... sitting up night after night cleverly 'forging' all those documents!!!!".
He said there was uncertainty over what the message meant but hoped the police, their UK counterparts and Interpol would investigate and "ascertain the true meaning of the email".
Of late, many have begun to doubt Rewcastle-Brown and the accuracy of the information given by the Sarawak Report, he added.
The 1MDB controversy started with reports that the state investment fund had amassed a debt of RM42 billion (S$15 billion) and allegations that the money had been lost due to incompetence.
The issue heated up when US newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, reported that some RM2.6 billion from the fund's dealings was allegedly transferred to Najib's personal bank accounts.
The Prime Minister has initiated legal proceedings against the newspaper over the report.
