The owner of The Edge Media Group, Tong Kooi Ong, has strongly denied claims that he orchestrated a political plot to bring down former Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, refuting accusations presented in a recently published book. These allegations, made by journalist Leslie Lopez in *The Siege Within*, suggest that Tong and The Edge's CEO, Ho Kay Tat, played a key role in using the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal to damage Najib's reputation and political career.
In an opinion piece recently published by *The Edge*, Tong categorically dismissed these claims, shedding light on the timeline and the facts surrounding The Edge’s involvement in the 1MDB investigations. He emphasized that his media group had started looking into the 1MDB scandal as early as 2012, long before any stories on the issue by Lopez or others. Their initial investigations focused on suspicious financial transactions tied to the government-linked sovereign wealth fund.
Tong also recalled an incident in 2014 when businessman Low Taek Jho, commonly known as Jho Low, allegedly sent a message via Lopez urging The Edge to halt their investigations into 1MDB. Jho Low, a central figure in the 1MDB scandal, has been accused of masterminding a massive financial fraud involving billions of dollars siphoned from the fund, a claim backed by both Malaysian and U.S. authorities.
“Leslie Lopez had been in close contact with Jho Low, which on its own wasn’t necessarily a problem, as journalists often rely on various sources for information. However, Jho Low was the chief architect of the fraud, a compulsive liar, and someone who was recklessly bribing people to secure their cooperation,” Tong wrote in his piece, casting doubt on Lopez's version of events.
In his defense, Tong pointed to the work his media group had done to expose the scandal, particularly the role of Tan Sri Nazir Razak, Najib’s brother, in revealing key details of the wrongdoing at 1MDB. He urged the public to look at The Edge’s coverage of the case for a more truthful understanding of their investigative efforts.
Additionally, Tong acknowledged that The Edge eventually parted ways with Lopez but clarified that the separation was amicable, with Lopez receiving a generous severance package for his contributions. However, after the split, Lopez allegedly began discrediting The Edge's reports on 1MDB, prompting Tong and Ho to take the high road and avoid public confrontation.
“We chose to ignore it,” Tong remarked. “We were good friends, and it’s rare to have completely smooth departures. Ho and I simply viewed it as one of life’s experiences.”
Despite their past friendship, Tong expressed disappointment in Lopez’s recent book, which he says falsely accuses The Edge of leveraging the 1MDB scandal as a tool to undermine Najib because Tong did not receive a newspaper license from the government.
“It was deeply painful to read the baseless accusations in *The Siege Within*. To claim that we conspired to topple Najib over something so trivial is utterly untrue,” Tong concluded, asserting his commitment to factual reporting and the pursuit of the truth in uncovering the 1MDB scandal.
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