Group only paid my expenses, says Sarawak reporter Lester Melanyi

Former Sarawak journalist Lester Melanyi says he tried to alert a few people of the attempt by Sarawak Report and opposition leaders to frame the prime minister over 1MDB. – YouTube screenshot, July 17, 2015.Former Sarawak journalist Lester Melanyi has denied claims he was paid to make a video alleging a plot hatched by the founder and editor of whistle-blower site Sarawak Report on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

However, he admitted that he was paid for his expenses when he flew to Kuala Lumpur to make the video in June, The Star reported today.

“I’m not denying that my trip to KL (and) hotels (were) all paid for, and they gave me RM1,000 to RM2,000 for my expenses. That’s all. The term ‘pay’ here is different,” he was quoted as saying in an interview with the English-language daily in Kuching.

He said he tried to tell several people about the alleged plot where Sarawak Report and opposition leaders had worked together to forge documents about 1MDB and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak before the website published its exposes, but only Pertubuhan Minda and Social Prihatin president Ramesh Rao Krishnan Naidu believed him.

Ramesh subsequently lodged a police on Wednesday and handed the video, which was recorded by the NGO leader, to the force as well.

He said he could not keep silent if lies were used to topple Najib.

"My conscience asked me to act. 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,” he was further quoted as saying in the report, adding that he has no hand in the alleged plot or forging of 1MDB documents.

The Star also reported that Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen and PKR vice-chairman See Chee How refuted their alleged involvement in the matter, as alleged in Rao police report.

See said he had never instructed Sarawak Report founder and editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown to write anything as claimed by Melanyi.

“It never happened,” See was quoted as saying and accused Barisan Nasional of using Melanyi to draw attention away from the current 1MDB scandal.

The daily also said Ramesh claimed he did not know who made the video.

“Why are you questioning me like police? I will only talk on Tuesday,” he was quoted as saying, adding that he lodged a report on behalf of Melanyi.

He told The Star he had plans to release another video with Melanyi on Tuesday but changed his mind after a meeting with the police in Bukit Aman.

Two days ago, BN communication strategic director Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said opposition politicians had worked together with Sarawak Report to forge documents leading to the many exposes on 1MDB.

He said there was "solid evidence", including an alleged video confession, provided in a police report lodged by an undisclosed person in Petaling Jaya that day.

It was subsequently revealed that Ramesh had lodged the report in Petaling Jaya.

The police report named Melanyi as a former editor who worked with Sarawak Report, but this was dismissed by Rewcastle-Brown, who said he had never worked with the London-based site.

Rewcastle-Brown said Melanyi had never written a "single word" for the site, although she had met Melanyi when he worked with her for Radio Free Sarawak, which was used to

expose alleged corruption by former Sarawak chief minister Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud and his family five years ago.

Rahman, in the press conference held at the Housing, Local Government and Urban Well-Being Ministry, also said to have sighted an email by Rewcastle-Brown in which she purportedly admits to forging the documents after staying up "night after night".

But this communication, Rewcastle-Brown said, came about after Melanyi contacted her two weeks ago regarding the forgery and tampering allegations, which first surfaced after the arrest of former PetroSaudi executive Xavier Andre Justo in Thailand.

To Melanyi's questions, Rewcastle-Brown had replied sarcastically about "forging" the documents, which Lester had published and later cited in Ramesh's police report.

"No one has been able to bring a shred of evidence to disprove anything that Sarawak Report has written on this matter for several weeks.

“If there was anything, Najib and PetroSaudi, who all have huge sums of money, would have gratefully sued me," she said.

Several weeks ago, Xavier's arrest was linked by Putrajaya to tampering and forging of 1MDB documents used by Sarawak Report.

It proceeded to reprimand local media agencies, including The Edge, for allegedly using these tampered documents and citing Sarawak Report.

1MDB, a state investment arm established in 2009, sits on RM42 billion debts and is also tied to allegations that some of its funds were transferred into Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal accounts in 2013.

Najib has denied the allegations and threatened legal action against The Wall Street Journal, which had published the expose.

Sarawak Report previously published exposes linking 1MDB's money trail to businessman Low Taek Jho, among others. – July 17, 2015.