TWO Umno lawmakers want Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and AmBank to clarify the allegations made by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Singapore's Straits Times reported.

Titiwangsa MP Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani in Kuala Lumpur, and Penang's Kepala Batas MP Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican, both expressed the need for the central bank and the private bank where allegedly Najib has his accounts, to make an official statement on the serious allegations.

Johari was quoted as saying, "If the two banks remain silent, it will not reduce public perception (of wrongdoing)."

Meanwhile, in a statement yesterday, Reezal said, "There has been no clear statement from Bank Negara Malaysia or even AmBank... and this brings about confusion among the public."

The WSJ and whistle-blower site Sarawak Report reported on Friday that investigations into debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) have allegedly uncovered billions of ringgit channelled to the personal accounts of Najib.

In their reports, both WSJ and the Sarawak Report had quoted from documents from the 1MDB probe by the Malaysian government, with Sarawak Report claiming that the Attorney-General was also aware of the information.

The documents allegedly showed US$700 million (RM2.67 billion) was moved among government agencies, banks and entities linked to 1MDB, which finally ended in the prime minister's personal accounts at the AmPrivate Bank in Kuala Lumpur, in five separate deposits.

According to Straits Times, BNM is well-regarded in international banking circles, and would normally be alerted to large transfers in domestic accounts, especially ones such as the alleged deposit of US$620 million transferred from a Singapore-based Swiss bank in March 2013.

Other Umno leaders also stepped into the fray admitting that Najib's response to the allegations, only saying that no money was used for "personal gain", did not address the main issue, that is if the money had indeed entered his accounts.

Bank Negara had reportedly said on June 3 that it would begin a formal inquiry into 1MDB but was bound by its operating procedure not to disclose any details as that would undermine the probe.

Meanwhile, 1MDB made an official statement last Friday denying that it had tranferred any funds to the prime minister, who is also chairman of the government investment fund's advisory board.

Independent think tank Ideas' chief executive officer Wan Saiful Wan Jan told the Straits Times that he believes the timing of the latest allegations against Najib is disastrous with government institutions under pressure to show they are independent.

With Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail leading a multi-agency task force to look into the allegations, Wan Saiful was quoted as saying: "If the allegations are proven, it would be the first time a PM is charged and he would be in grave trouble.

"However, if he is not (charged), large segments would point to previous occasions when (the Attorney-General's) neutrality was in doubt." – July 6, 2015.