The Wall Street Journal and whistleblower website Sarawak Report are guilty of deceitful reporting and disrespecting the monarchy, according to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's press secretary.
"It is a disgrace that the good name of His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has been dragged into certain foreign media's attacks on Malaysia," said Tengku Sharifuddin Tengku Ahmad.
For over a month, he pointed out, the publications "maliciously" reported that Najib had appointed his "1MDB linked ally" treasury-secretary Irwan Serigar Abdullah to be the new governor of Bank Negara, despite no decision having been made at the time.
"Yesterday, their lie was exposed when Muhammad Ibrahim was appointed as governor," Tengku Sharifuddin said.
In an attempt to cover up their "lie and international embarrassment", he claimed, WSJ and Sarawak Report concocted the story of the prime minister's purported U-turn following pressure.
He also noted the "fictitious" claim that the Agong had previously signed the appointment of Irwan, but was persuaded to change the nomination, and was livid about this matter.
"Both His Majesty and Irwan have now publicly stated that this is false.
“His Majesty only signed one appointment – for Muhammad on April 26, 2016 – and Irwan was never offered the post," Tengku Sharifuddin said.
He contended that WSJ and Sarawak Report have failed to provide evidence to back up their reporting, which he claimed is not based on facts but on hearsay from anonymous sources.
"This source may not even exist. Or they could be just another proxy for (former prime minister Dr) Mahathir Mohamad's anti-Najib campaign, whose lies WSJ and Sarawak Report bought outright.
"This is fantasy journalism. They are shamelessly peddling opposition fabrications as facts," he added.
Tengku Sharifuddin said it was time to call out WSJ and Sarawak Report for their apparent campaign against Malaysia.
"Their lies are now proven, and Malaysians should know that nothing they print can be believed," he said.
Tengku Sharifuddin was referring to the report by WSJ that accused Najib of executing a U-turn from an earlier decision to appoint Irwan as Bank Negara governor, and promoting former deputy governor Muhammad instead, after public pressure over the supposed decision.
