KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s legal team said today that they will seek a “second opinion” from legal experts before deciding on the next course of action against the Wall Street Journal (WSJ)’s publisher over two articles by the US-based paper on a RM2.6 billion money trail into the prime minister’s personal bank account.

Najib’s lawyer Datuk Hafarizam Wan Harun, who said he had met his client yesterday, did not rule out the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the WSJ publisher, Dow Jones & Co.

“I have been instructed by my client to seek further advice from legal experts both within and outside Malaysia as to appropriate action to be taken against WSJ.

“My instructions are to further look into this matter — in view of the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) revelation and also the Wall Street Journal’s avoidance of taking a stand whether it is 1MDB or not,” he told reporters here at the court complex.

The MACC said yesterday that the RM2.6 billion transferred to Najib’s personal account did not come from state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad, but it was a donation from the Middle East, without specifying who the donors were.

Hafarizam claimed that the WSJ had in its July 21 reply “studiously avoided” making a stand of whether their two articles had alleged the RM2.6 billion came from 1MDB or whether Najib had committed wrongdoing or misappropriated money.

“After 14 days of that letter being sent, they came and said it is as it stands in the article. In other words, they are not saying whether it is 1MDB or not, leaving it up to me to take a stand whether it is 1MDB or not,” he said.

Najib's lawyer did not rule out the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the WSJ publisher, Dow Jones & Co. — File pic

Hafarizam said the legal experts that would be engaged could be a UK based Queen's Counsel or a US attorney.

“This legal expert that I'm looking is not for opinion as to what we need to do but a second opinion based on what we felt the position that we should take,” he said, later adding that it would involve a study into the jurisdiction or country where the lawsuit would be filed.

When asked for the expected timeframe for his team to seek the second opinion, Hafarizam said he was told to complete it as soon as possible.

He also pointed out that he would need to first identify the legal experts, who would need time to conduct research before giving advice.

Hafarizam confirmed that Najib has six years to file a lawsuit against WSJ's publishers in Malaysia according to the Statute of Limitation, but said he would need to seek advice on the limitation period for legal action in other countries.

According to Hafarizam, it was possible to file a lawsuit over WSJ here, noting that there were previously three Singapore court cases against the US-based paper, including one filed by the island republic's then prime minister ― the late Lee Kuan Yew.

Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir had similarly filed a lawsuit against WSJ in Malaysia, he said.

When asked about a Sin Chew Daily report last month of a trip to the US in an expected bid to file a lawsuit against WSJ there, Hafarizam denied that he had gone there.

He merely confirmed that he had went abroad with another lawyer Datuk Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin, and that one of the reasons for the trip was the WSJ.

When asked if Najib had already engaged lawyers in the US in relation to the WSJ articles, Hafarizam merely replied: “Maybe not on WSJ”.