Salleh: Sarawak Report founder distorted truth during TV interview

KUALA LUMPUR: Clare Rewcastle-Brown distorted the truth about issues in Malaysia in an interview by the British-based Sky TV on Saturday night, said Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak (pix).

Communications and Multimedia Minister said that during the interview, The Sarawak Report founder had once again tried to portray herself as a crusader for truth and justice, but that did not change the fact that articles published by her were not backed by real evidence.

“In fact, it is alleged that some of the evidence had been tampered with or doctored. We know that this ‘evidence’ could not have dropped from the sky … so how did she manage to get it?” Salleh queried in a blog post on Sunday.

Salleh said Rewcastle-Brown talked as if Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had already been convicted or indicted of a crime.

He said, as a veteran journalist, Rewcastle-Brown should have stick to the basic principle of law that one is innocent until and unless proven guilty.

“She, however, talks as if the evidence is conclusive and she knows for a fact that the prime minister is guilty just because she says so. Clare is the judge, jury and executioner all in one,” Salleh wrote.

The minister also pointed out that Rewcastle-Brown, during the interview, had purportedly misled the audience by saying that the government had jailed PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on trumped up charges.

“But she did not mention that Anwar refused to take the stand to testify and neither did he summon his dozen or so witnesses to court to support his alibi.

“In fact, Anwar did not even produce an alibi,” Salleh added.

On another point, the minister said, Brown had tried to mislead the audience by saying the opposition pact should have been the government just because they had won more than 50% of the votes in the last election.

“I am surprised that Brown is not aware that in the Westminster parliamentary system, it is the party that wins most number of seats that gets to form the government, and not the party that wins the most number of votes.

“Is this not what happened in the UK during the last two elections as well?” Salleh asked.

He said Brown should instead be more transparent with the details of funding for The Sarawak Report. – Bernama