WASHINGTON, U.S.A. - The daughter of detained Malaysian opposition
leader Anwar Ibrahim called on the Obama administration on Friday to put
pressure on her country’s prime minister, Najib Razak, to release her father
and abandon authoritarian policies.
In an interview in Washington during a visit to lobby US
officials and politicians, Nurul Izzah Anwar said it was important that Najib
was not able to use a visit to Malaysia in November by President Barack Obama
to bolster his position.
Nurul Izzah also said there was no basis for a Malaysian
police investigation against her over charges contained in reports.
In
pro-government newspapers reporting that she attempted to buy stolen data on state
investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), which is at the center of
a scandal involving Najib.
In
pro-government newspapers reporting that she attempted to buy stolen data on state
investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), which is at the center of
a scandal involving Najib.
She called the allegations an “attempt to vilify and to
tarnish me and to deflect from the fact that $700 million went to Najib’s
pocket and $650 million went out and nobody knows where the money is.”
She said she was sticking to her plan to leave Washington on
Saturday to return to Malaysia, even though there was the risk of arrest.
- “I think I have no choice – I mean, I will face it, fight back, as we have done before,” she said.
- A Wall Street Journal report in July claimed government investigators looking into 1MDB have found that nearly $700 million was transferred into the prime minister’s personal bank account.
- Najib has denied taking any money from the debt-laden state fund or any other entity for personal gain.
The country’s anti-corruption unit
later said the funds moved to Najib’s accounts were a donation from an
unidentified Middle East donor, and did not come from 1MDB.
Nurul said she was asking the U.S. administration to issue a
“clear-cut demand for Anwar’s release as a political prisoner.”
At the very least, he should be given access to surgery – a
medical intervention is needed as soon as possible, she said.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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