'Suspension of Edge not to suppress investigations'

PETALING JAYA - The suspension of The Edge is not to suppress the probe on 1MDB, says Barisan Nasional strategic communications director Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan.

He said that investigations into the company and all other issues had not stopped.

"In fact, investigations by the Public Accounts Committee, Auditor-General, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, police and Bank Negara are gathering steam and getting busier by the day," he said in a Facebook posting.

Rahman said all those who were seeking the truth should give investigators time and space to carry out their work.

"Why can't we trust the official investigation but believe everything The Edge said even though it was proven that the publication was involved in a scandal which (former PetroSaudi International executive) Xavier Justo claimed was to topple the Government?"

Rahman said instead of publishing its so-called expose, The Edge should have handed over the stolen documents to the authorities.

That would be the right thing to do instead of "milking it for months for obvious political purposes and in the process, creating economic uncertainty and political mayhem".

Just as bank officers must observe rules to earn public confidence, he said the same applied to the press.