Australian journalists detained then released in Malaysia. .. this has tinges of serious corruption, a former attorney-general who had planned to file criminal charges against Najib Razak was sacked ..
Four Corners crew Linton Besser and Louie Eroglu leave Malaysia for Singapore
By South East Asia correspondent Adam Harvey in Kuching, staff
The Four Corners team detained in Malaysia after trying to question Prime Minister Najib Razak have left the country and flown to Singapore after authorities decided not to press charges against them.
-- Key points:
* Four Corners team has arrived in Singapore * They were escorted out of Malaysia after a case against them was dropped * They initially faced charge of obstructing a public servant in the discharge of their duties --
Reporter Linton Besser and cameraman Louie Eroglu arrived in Singapore this afternoon on a Malaysia Airlines flight.
"It's been something of a rollercoaster," Besser said before leaving.
"We came to Sarawak expecting to be here only a matter of hours really. And so it's been pretty eventful being arrested."
"I expected the worst. I basically prepared for the worst case scenario," Eroglu added.
"And then in the middle of the night, getting a knock on the door from Louie, that there's been a sudden change of plan again.
"Our lawyer came to the hotel and said he's received written confirmation from the chief of police that the charges were now going to be dropped. So that's a great relief."
In a statement, ABC News director Gaven Morris said he was "very glad and relieved" at the outcome, saying the corporation stood by its journalists.
"They did nothing wrong in Kuching. They were doing journalism. This incident has demonstrated again why it is vital to defend media freedom, including the right to question authority," he said.
"Linton and Louie are continuing their work, investigating the story they are working on for Four Corners. We look forward to seeing their full report in coming weeks."
On Saturday night, Besser questioned Mr Najib as he walked into a mosque, asking him why hundreds of millions of dollars had been deposited into his bank account.
"We landed about 8 o'clock and we went to the public event, the event the Prime Minister Najib Razak had put out a media call for," Besser said.
-- Never crossed a police line. There was no police line. Four Corners reporter Linton Besser --
"He invited journalists, it was a public event. Louie and I had barely any time to communicate about where we were going to be. We walked in and saw a bunch of journalists, tripods and cameras, so we joined up with them and suddenly the PM arrived.
"As soon as I tried to ask a question to the Prime Minister I was a bundled away by police, and that led to a chain of events that brings us to now."
The pair were surrounded by Mr Najib's security team and then allowed to leave, before later being arrested and questioned for six hours in a police station.
Their passports were taken and later returned, but they were told not to leave the country while their case was investigated.
"Never crossed a police line. There was no police line," Besser said.
"The first time I got an instruction was after I threw a couple of questions for the Prime Minister to answer and the police told me to stop and step away, and that's exactly what I did.
"Louie stopped filming and we cooperated at all times with the police. There was no obstruction at all."
If they were found guilty of the charge they could have faced two years in prison.
[ a tweet photo ]
The lawyer for the ABC pair, Albert Tang, said he received a call from Ng Ahlek, the superintendent of police for Malaysia's Padawan District, telling him to bring his clients to court at 8:30am Tuesday (local time) so they could be charged.
"When asked who made the decision to institute the charge against my clients, he said it was the Attorney-General who made the decision," Mr Tang said on Monday.
He said that normally those decisions were made by a local deputy public prosecutor.
But three hours after the pair were given the order to appear in court on Tuesday morning, their lawyer was called by police and told no charges would be filed and they may be able to leave the country after some paperwork.
The pair travelled to Kuching police station this morning to finalise documents to have their bail cancelled.
Malaysian PM Najib key figure in 1MDB corruption scandal, alleges cabinet minister
"Former Malaysian premier Mahathir sues PM Najib over 'abuse of power'"
Communications director for ruling coalition says PM is ‘Malaysian Official 1’ named in US Justice Department lawsuit
Agence France-Presse
Friday 2 September 2016 16.05 AEST
Najib Razak at a celebration outside Kuala Lumpur. A cabinet minister has said Najib is the unnamed official who the US Justice Department said took part in rampant looting of state funds. Photograph: Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images
Agence France-Presse
Friday 2 September 2016 16.05 AEST
A Malaysian cabinet minister has said Prime Minister Najib Razak was the mysterious unnamed official who the US Justice Department said took part in rampant looting of state funds.
The comment follows widespread suspicions that Najib was “Malaysian Official 1” mentioned in a Justice Department lawsuit filed in July.
But in an interview with the BBC that aired late on Thursday, Abdul Rahman Dahlan, the minister of urban wellbeing, housing and local government, said it was Najib.
“It’s obvious that the so-called ‘Malaysian Official 1’ referred to by the US Justice Department is our prime minister,” he said in a subsequent clarifying statement.
Rahman Dahlan, who also is communications director for Najib’s ruling coalition, did not address whether Najib committed wrongdoing. But he insisted Najib was not a target of the US lawsuit.
His comments, however, will add fuel to persistent calls for Najib to step down.
Last weekend, several hundred protesters demonstrated, demanding “Malaysian Official 1” be identified and arrested.
Najib, however, has shut down Malaysian investigations, clamped down on media reporting of the affair, and purged critics from his ruling party.
1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Berhad, was launched by Najib in 2009 and closely overseen by him.
Allegations of a vast international scheme of embezzlement and money-laundering involving billions of dollars of 1MDB money began to emerge two years ago.
In its scathing lawsuit, the US Justice Department detailed how “Malaysian Official 1”, family members, and close associates diverted billions from the now-stricken fund.
The reason behind the remarks of Rahman Dahlan, a staunch defender of Najib, was not immediately clear.
But the news dominated headlines in Malaysia, and was a top-trending Twitter topic in the country on Friday.
Senior opposition figure Lim Kit Siang said Najib must immediately submit to justice to avoid further harming Malaysia’s image.
“The prime minister .... [must] purge and cleanse Malaysia’s reputation as a global kleptocracy,” he said in a statement.
Analysts warned the scandal could harm foreign investment in Malaysia.
Political experts see no sign yet that Najib will be ousted before the next elections, due by mid-2018, due to his long-ruling coalition’s firm control.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
