NINE QUESTIONS FOR SARAWAK REPORT: CURRENT / CLARE'S OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON THE WARRANT OF HER ARREST

THE FOLLOWING IS A REPRODUCTION OF SARAWAK REPORT'S OFFICIAL STATEMENT MADE ON THE "TALKBACK" COMMENTS SECTION FOR MALAYSIAKINI'S ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE ARREST, REPOSTED ON THE SAID BLOG.

REPRODUCED HERE FOR DATA GATHERING AND FUTURE REFERENCE.

Arrest warrant for S'wak Report editor

"Police have obtained an arrest warrant for Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle Brown, who has been accused of being part of a conspiracy to topple Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

"The warrant is in connection with offences allegedly committed under Section 124B and 124I of the Penal Code.

"In a brief statement this evening, CID director Mohmad Salleh said the police would also proceed with applications to place her on the Aseanapol wanted list as well as the Interpol red notice.

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[RELATED: BREAKING / INTERPOL SAYS NO TO MALAYSIA'S RED NOTICE REQUEST – Sources, August 29, 2015]

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"Section 124B states: Whoever, by any means, directly or indirectly, commits an activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to twenty years.

"Whereas 124I states: Any person who, by word of mouth or in writing or in any newspaper, periodical, book, circular, or other printed publication or by any other means including electronic means spreads false reports or makes false statements likely to cause public alarm, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years.

"The arrest warrant comes in the wake of police arresting several individuals from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Attorney-General’s Chambers.

"Among them was former MACC adviser Rashpal Singh, who supposedly met Rewcastle-Brown in London.

"Those arrested have since been released but inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar said more would follow and did not rule out the possibility of Bank Negara governor Zeti Akthar Aziz and MACC number Mohd Shukri Abdull being questioned as well.

"Rewcastle Brown, Zeti and Mohd Shukri have been accused by certain quarters of being among those involved in a conspiracy to oust the prime minister.

"Also on the list was The Edge media group owner Tong Kooi Ong.
Both Sarawak Report and The Edge have published a slew of damaging articles concerning 1MDB.

"(Arrest warrant for S'wak Report editor - MalaysiaKini, August 4, 2015)

Comment

"I have been asked for response on this latest move by the Malaysian authorities to attempt to extradite me by issuing a warrant for my arrest, which they say they will pass to Interpol.

"My first comment is that this action could hardly be more counter-productive on the part of a government that is seeking to assure the world that it is a sane democracy.

"My action has been to publish information, which some in power do not like. Yet, the ‘crime’ they are accusing me of is of “an activity detrimental to democracy”. It is they who are being detrimental to democracy by suppressing free speech and arresting people for questioning people in authority.

"I am still unclear whether the agents of the Prime Minister are accusing me of “forging false documents” or obtaining documents through “criminal leakages”, since they have simultaneously accused me of both in the past few days and have been rounding up all sorts of senior investigators to try and find out who might have passed me such leaks.

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[RELATED: CURRENT / THE JUSTO CONFESSION ON THE STRAITS TIMES OF SINGAPORE - "I can say that I gave those documents to two groups of people, [one was Ms Rewcastle-Brown and "her IT guy" and the other was the Malaysian businessman and his colleague.] [Those {I} met had talked about using the documents] to try to bring down the Malaysian government. [They also referred to plans to] modify the documents. [{I}...admitted that {I} had stolen company data - some 90 gigabytes worth - when {I} left in 2011." - Xavier Andre Justo - The Straits Times, July 24, 2015]

[RELATED: CURRENT / JUSTO AND THE EDGE MEDIA GROUP – "Yes, we misled [Justo]. But that was the only way to get hold of the evidence to expose how a small group of Malaysians and foreigners cheated the people of Malaysia of US$1.83 billion (S$2.5 billion). All the more so when we know he will be upset with us because we will eventually not pay him what he wants." - Datuk Tong Kooi Ong and Ho Kay Tat - The Straits Times, July 24, 2015]

[RELATED: CURRENT / #ICYMI: CLARE ADMITS TO CONSPIRACY RING, DEFRAUDING JUSTO – "But when it emerged they were not paying Justo, I had to deal with a lot of upset from him (Justo). I did not want to have anything to do with it but offered to try and mediate. It did not come to anything." - Clare Rewcastle Brown - Malaysia Chronicle, July 25, 2015]

[RELATED: FOCUS / CLARE REWCASTLE BROWN'S IGNORANCE OF HER OWN COUNTRY'S LEGAL CODES -"11– Obtaining services dishonestly. (2) A person obtains services in breach of this subsection if– (a) they are made available on the basis that the payment has been, is being, or will be made for or in respect of them, (b) he obtains them without any payment having been made for or in respect of them or without payment having been made in full, and (c) when he obtains them, he knows– (i) that they are being made available on the basis described in paragraph (a), or (ii) that they might be, but intends that payment will not be made, or will not be made in full." - UK FRAUD ACT 2006, August 16, 2015]

[RELATED: BREAKING / BUSINESSMAN AT CENTER OF MAJOR MALAYSIAN CORRUPTION SCANDAL IS JAILED IN THAILAND – “I did pursue [Justo] doggedly to get the material. In the end he surrendered it for free." - Clare Rewcastle Brown - The Telegraph, August 17, 2015]

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"They need to make up their minds about this before they bring their charges and they really ought to produce some substantive and convincing evidence of their other accusation that I am part of some international plot intent on falsely accusing the Prime Minister of crimes for reasons unknown.

"I am merely an investigative journalist who has been doing my job, by unravelling one hell of an international scandal involving people in high places and the grand larceny of public monies.

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[RELATED: BREAKING / SWISS NATIONAL GIVEN 3-YEAR JAIL TERM FOR 1MDB-LINKED BLACKMAIL – "...the Straits Times claimed that Justo had affirmed that the businessman and Clare Rewcastle-Brown, the editor of the Sarawak report, wanted to use the data to “bring down the Malaysian government.” He also said that his interlocutors had evoked the possibility of “modifying the documents”, which Rewcastle-Brown has denied. The country’s anti-corruption agency later said the $700 million was donations, effectively clearing Razak of wrongdoing." – FultonCounty.COM, August 17, 2015]

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"It’s as simple as that – no plot and no vested interest. The interest of the public is my motivation and duty. Conversely, the public are at liberty to reach their own conclusions over what has motivated the recent actions of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, who has spent the past few days, sacking, removing and arresting just about anybody who has been officially engaged in investigating the scandal I have been reporting on – the missing billions from 1MDB. Moreover, he has not just attacked my blog and myself, but other reputable news organisations, closing down two papers in Malaysia.

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[RELATED: BREAKING / SWISS NATIONAL XAVIER JUSTO GIVEN 3-YEAR JAIL TERM FOR 1MDB-LINKED BLACKMAIL - "While in custody, Justo also admitted to handing the stolen documents to a "prominent Malaysian businessman" who turned out to be The Edge Media Group chairman Datuk Tong Kooi Ong, as well as Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown.
Justo said a deal on the sale of the stolen data was reached in Singapore in February, and named those involved in his 22-page confession to Thai police." - The Malaysian Insider, August 18, 2015]

[RELATED: BREAKING / MALAYSIANS LINKED TO JUSTO TO BE FURTHER QUESTIONED BY POLICE, SAYS IGP - "Besides the media duo, others who could also find themselves called in to give additional statements include former Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission adviser Tan Sri Rasphal Singh, Attorney-General’s Chambers officer Jessica Gurmeet Kaur." - The Rakyat Post, August 18, 2015]

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"If the Prime Minister had nothing to hide in this matter and if my reports were false there would be numerous more orthodox and far less disruptive methods of dealing with me than sacking his Deputy Prime Minister; sacking the AG; closing down the PAC and dismissing members of his cabinet. He could simply have issued libel proceedings or he could have produced evidence (e.g. correct bank statements and transfer documents) that would have shown my reports to be untrue."

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[RELATED: BREAKING / RMP TO RESUME EFFORTS TO INTERVIEW JUSTO IN THAI PRISON, WITH A-G HELP - "In light of the conviction of Mr Xavier Andre Justo, the AGC has also received a positive response from its counterpart in Thailand and is in the process of obtaining further evidence under the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters among the Asean member countries." - Attorney-General Chambers of Malaysia, August 17, 2015]

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