(July 15): Datuk Seri Najib Razak today dismissed an article in two Australian newspapers linking his office to corrupt practices in contracts to print polymer bank notes, saying that the alleged bribes had taken place during the administration of his fiercest critic, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

A statement posted on the Prime Minister's Office website today said the bribes were alleged to have been paid over the period of 1999 to 2004, during the administration of former prime ministers Tun Abdullah Badawi and Dr Mahathir.

The offending report, titled, “Bribery scandal linked to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak”, was published in The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), papers owned by Australia’s Fairfax Media group, on July 14.

"Yet Fairfax Media chose not to mention Tun Mahathir anywhere in its article.

"This is despite knowing that the alleged bribes took place not during Prime Minister Najib's tenure, but during Tun Mahathir's; and despite Tun Mahathir being named in the suppression order regarding the case obtained by the Australian government.

"Instead, the entire article including its headline and photos focuses on and smears Prime Minister Najib," PMO said, adding that it might not be coincidental that Fairfax Media said it had separate information from "high-level sources".

PMO also questioned what Najib had to do with the case as the alleged bribery took place before he led the government.

SMH yesterday said the polymer bank notes scandal "may" involve Najib, adding that Putrajaya had ignored Canberra's requests for information on the case.

The Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department wanted information about the financial dealings of a group of middlemen, said to be close to people in Najib and Abdullah's offices.

Najib is taking steps to sue the two Australian dailies that carried the report as well as their owner, Fairfax Media Group, calling the article a "sly and underhanded way" of tarnishing his image.

The PMO statement said that there were already court records quoted in the report stating that "none of the named persons (including Mr Najib and Mr Badawi) is a person whom the accused are alleged to have conspired to bribe". – The Malaysian Insider