National Traitors at The Edge "exposed" by @mpkotabelud Cc @theedgemarkets

Influential UMNO Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan has rained Twitter-fire on the statement from opposition news portal The Edge publisher Ho Kay Tat regarding the financial daily’s malicious and inaccurate articles on 1MDB.

Dismissing the claim that the reports were not politically motivated, he said: "The Edge said this was not political. Excuse me. I was not born yesterday. Don't patronise."

He argued that The Edge had no qualms "roping in the opposition to do their bidding" instead of remaining neutral.

The newly minted BN strategic communication director pointed out The Edge also admitted procuring stolen data from former PetroSaudi International executive Xavier Andre Justo.

"Finally, The Edge admitted they got stolen data from Justo! I wonder if the Thais didn't arrest Justo, would they admit it?" he tweeted.

In his statement, Ho said early this year, the publication was informed that "someone" was willing to share information that would shed light on 1MDB's joint-venture with PSI.

"We were not told who he was before we met him.

"This person, whom we shall not name, showed us thousands and thousands of emails and document attachments.

"We read scores of them and were convinced of their authenticity because of the sheer volume and the email trails. We subsequently had an IT forensic expert confirmed that there was no reason to worry that they were fakes,” he said.

Why IT experts called?

However, Abdul Rahman dismissed this explanation as well.

"The Edge said they used the stolen data from Justo because they were dead sure the data were not fake. How convenient!" he said.       

"If The Edge is sure the data were not tampered with why then experts said they were indeed. If The Edge unsure why use it?" he added.

Despite the 'confession', the urban well-being, housing and local government minister warned that "the issue is far from over".

"Questions that need to be asked: Did anyone pay for the stolen and tampered data?

"Did anyone complain about not getting paid or being paid late for the stolen data? Did anyone then ask someone to pressure the buyer to honour his commitment to pay?" he added.

Abdul Rahman also questioned who tempered with the data as acknowledged by the Thai authorities.

Justo, a Swiss national, is under the detention of Thai police for allegedly attempting to blackmail his former employer.

He is also said to have leaked the documents to several parties to bring down Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.