KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has reminded the public that they need to read or watch a news report and interview in its entirety to understand the context of it all so as to avoid any misinterpretation.
He said it is easy to get the wrong perception only by reading the headlines and not focusing on other parts.
“What I meant was (during the interview with Sinar Harian), if whatever that is reported today on the charges filed by Department of Justice (DoJ) against the two former Goldman Sachs and a legal suit filed by the Abu Dhabi government against Goldman Sachs was true, so it is proven that Jho Low has lied.
“Keep in mind that 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has never dealt directly with Jho Low and every agreement and 1MDB payment is to joint venture companies like PetroSaudi and Aabar which are owned by the royalty or the government of certain countries.
“Jho Low has never worked for or represented 1MDB but instead, he represented Saudi Arabia as he was close with them,” Najib said in a statement issued on his Facebook.
He said this when commenting on the interview program with Sinar Harian through a Facebook Live session earlier.
He also said the 1MDB issue was a complex one, though those with deeper knowledge would understand clearly that the money allegedly stolen from the fund had been transferred as payments to Aabar and International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).
Najib said the money was stolen only after 1MDB had made the payments.
He added those who followed the 1MDB development also knew that Low conspired with the IPIC top management as well as Goldman Sachs to channel some funds to Aabar and IPIC, then to him.
“Therefore, the previous BN government had made two consensuses with IPIC in 2015 and 2017 to get back every sen from the stolen 1MDB fund.
“Yesterday, the IPIC reported that it had filed a legal suit against Goldman Sachs to pay damages after the latter was accused of abetting to swindle IPIC.
“If all these allegations were true, then maybe Jho Low may have made a deal with Goldman Sachs and the IPIC top management to swindle the company,” Najib added.
