KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 — Umno leadership should challenge the freeze on party accounts by investigators via the courts, former de facto law minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said today.

Azalina, who is also contesting a supreme council post in Umno elections tomorrow, said that the party could argue that the freeze was done in bad faith, pointing out that Malaysia does not have laws pertaining political funding.

“The freeze on Umno accounts, as though it is involved in illegal activities, is something that cannot be accepted,” she said in a statement.

She also urged the government to carry out a transparent investigation into the matter.

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“I hope the government does not misuse the Anti-Money Laundering Act to restrict political freedom, more so with the Umno election just a day away,” she added.

Investigators probing the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal today confirmed the freezing of several party accounts, including that of Umno, to assist the investigation.

The accounts of individuals, companies and associations believed to be involved in the misappropriation of funds from 1MDB were also frozen.

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