KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — A federal PKR lawmaker questioned today Putrajaya’s apparent refusal to investigate Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for alleging in a video leaked earlier this week that Datuk Seri Najib Razak had admitted to receiving US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) in his personal accounts.

Alor Setar MP Gooi Hsiao Leung said Muhyiddin’s remarks should be taken seriously, pointing out to the authorities that the latter not only still holds the coveted post of deputy president in ruling Umno but only a few days ago was still the country’s deputy prime minister.

“Are Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s words not worth his salt? Surely, Zahid (Hamidi), out of respect for Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s position, should accept what he says on face value to be true unless he is implying that it was all cooked up by Tan Sri Muhyiddin out of anger for being axed in the Cabinet reshuffle,” the lawmaker said in a statement this morning.

Gooi was commenting on remarks yesterday by Muhyiddin’s successor in the government Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.

Zahid, when pressed to respond to Muhyiddin’s claim that was heard in a leaked video earlier this week, told a press conference that his former Cabinet colleague was likely just speaking out of anger.

Khalid, on the other hand, said he saw no reason why the police should investigate Muhyiddin’s claim.

“Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s statement, as a former Deputy Prime Minister is most grave and serious — as it is tantamount to a ‘confession’ by the Prime Minister himself that RM2.6 billion was deposited into his personal bank account,” Gooi said.

He insisted that Muhyiddin’s claims were sufficient grounds for a corruption investigation.

“At the very least, Tan Sri Muhiyiddin and even Kedah MB (Datuk) Mukhriz (Mahathir) who was shown to be present in the leaked video clip should be called up by the police to record their statements.

“They should not be treated differently to other parties which Zahid and the IGP have brazenly threatened with the full brunt of the law for discrediting the PM and conspiring to overthrow the government,” he added.

Najib had abruptly cut Muhyiddin from the government in a hastily-convened news conference in Putrajaya Tuesday, announcing Zahid as his replacement in the post of deputy prime minister.

Rumours of the axe on Muhyiddin had been swirling on the political blogsphere in recent days and increased after last Satudsay when the Umno veteran urged Najib to explain fully the “real facts” surrounding 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), claiming few ministers to be fully apprised of the state investor.

This resulted in a rare public rebuke from the Prime Minister’s Office, which urged Muhyiddin and other members of the administration not to pre-judge the ongoing investigations on 1MDB.

A video recording was then leaked Wednesday showing Muhyiddin claiming to guests at his Damansara Heights house that he had confronted Najib about a RM2.6 billion injection into the latter’s personal bank accounts from a Middle East source.

Malay Mail Online was unable to immediately verify the authenticity of the leaked video, but former minister Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir who was present at the meeting confirmed the incident captured on camera was genuine.