(June 30): Ministers and Umno leaders who jump on the "tampered documents" narrative as a chance to clear 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) of wrongdoing now are foolish, says Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin.

This is because critics of 1MDB and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak were not relying solely on information from whistleblower site Sarawak Report and its documents to find fault with the debt-ridden state investment fund, the former information minister wrote in his latest blog post today.

"It is unwise for the ministers and Umno leaders to respond immediately with claims that 1MDB is clean, it is innocent, it has done no wrong, because all of it was based on Sarawak Report's false articles," wrote Zainuddin.

"If Tun Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) is criticised for making all sorts of accusations without waiting for the results of the Public Accounts Committee's investigation and the auditor-general's report, the public feels the same way about the ministers and Najib's people who are using Xavier Andre Justo's arrest."

Zainuddin added that unlike the ministers, whose statements on 1MDB represented the government, Dr Mahathir was speaking on 1MDB in his personal capacity as an ordinary citizen.

He said he was confident Dr Mahahir still had many "big secrets" about 1MDB which the former prime minister would reveal at the right time, adding that Sarawak Report was not his only source of information.

"It is wrong for the ministers, leaders or Najib to think that Tun Dr Mahathir depends only on Sarawak Report to expose 1MDB's alleged wrongdoings.

"As a prime minister for 22 years, everyone knows and everyone who worked around him knows that he places importance on true facts when he raises and exposes an issue for the sake of the country."

Yesterday, Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said the arrest of Xavier, who used to work as PetroSaudi International director, proved 1MDB is on the right track.

Gerakan vice-president Datuk Dominic Lau Hoe Chai said 1MDB critics owed Najib an apology as the authenticity of the documents Sarawak Report used in its exposes on 1MDB were now in doubt.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the notion that Justo had tampered with the emails and documents on 1MDB was based on a "logical assumption".

Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi warned The Edge and its owner Datuk Tong Kooi Ong that publishing permits issued to the media group could be revoked for using Sarawak Report as a source of information on 1MDB.

Justo, who had allegedly leaked information linked to 1MDB's deal with PetroSaudi, was arrested on a Thai island on June 22 and sent to the capital Bangkok the day after.

He is currently being held by the Crime Suppression Division of the Royal Thai Police.

Numerous computers, hard drives and other pieces of evidence were seized during his arrest, which is to facilitate investigations into the leak of emails between PetroSaudi and 1MDB for the purpose of blackmail.

Justo has denied these allegations.

Putrajaya said the emails and documents taken from PetroSaudi were tampered with, based on initial investigations by private cyber security firm Protection Group International (PGI).

Pro-government daily the New Straits Times was the first to break the news about PGI's findings after reports of Justo's arrest in Thailand.

It quoted an unnamed PGI expert as saying that the leaked documents had been edited so as to paint a negative picture of 1MDB.

1MDB also issued a statement after, saying that some of the leaked emails had been tampered with. – The Malaysian Insider