I stand by my expose: Ex-Sarawak editor
PHOTO: The Star/ANN
Jul 16, 2015
Former Sarawak newspaper editor Lester Melanyi stands by his expose on Sarawak Report's alleged falsification of information on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) to topple the Prime Minister.
"My conscience told me to act and speak up," he told The Star in reiterating the allegations that Sarawak Report had worked with opposition leaders in a mission to bring down Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Lester claimed that he had told several politicians about the matter but no one believed him except Pertubuhan Minda dan Sosial Prihatin president Ramesh Rao.
Ramesh lodged a police report on Wednesday and handed over a video confession by Lester alleging a conspiracy to criminalise Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak with regard to the 1MDB issue.
Dr M, BN leaders slam detention of 1MDB critics
Mr Najib's government has launched a tightening clampdown in which dozens of opponents were hauled up on sedition or other charges over the past year, including Mr Anwar's daughter, MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.
On Oct 12, a group of Barisan Nasional leaders headed by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad have come together to voice out against the prosecution of former Batu Kawan Umno vice-chief Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan and his lawyer, Matthias Chang under the new anti-terrorism law.
Both Khairuddin and Chang were detained under Section 124 of the Security Offence (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012 over offences deemed detrimental to parliamentary democracy.
Khairuddin was arrested after making several reports overseas, including in Singapore, Switzerland, France and Hong Kong against 1MDB.
The press conference was held while Khairuddin and Chang were being charged at the Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court with attempting to sabotage the country's banking and financial systems.
On Sep 16, the Himpunan Maruah Melayu rally which saw protesters turning the Padang Merbok field into a sea of red, brandishing placards and banners calling for Malay unity.
"I can't stand the lies. It's not fair for a man to go down because of lies. If it's because he's not popular, because of something else, fine. But you cannot bring down a person with lies," Lester said.
He said the video confession was made during a trip to Kuala Lumpur in June and claimed that he was not paid to do it.
"Ramesh did it (the video). I'm not denying that my trip to KL (and) hotels (were) all paid for and they gave me RM1,000-2,000 for my expenses. That's all. The term pay here is different," he said.
Lester also wanted to clarify that he was not a former editor of Sarawak Report as mentioned by Barisan Nasional strategic communications director Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan in a press conference about the police report and video confession on Wednesday.
He said what he did was "localised" articles written by Sarawak Report to make them more understandable for Malaysians. Lester also said he wanted to make clear that he played no part in the plot to oust Najib or in forging any documents on 1MDB.
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