If Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin does not understand how the law works, he should just keep quiet, Batu Kawan Umno division deputy chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan said today.

Khairuddin said that he would reveal the "facts" pertaining to his report against 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MBD) to the police.

"Nobody would reveal such facts in the open. They would be disclosed when recording a police statement," he told Malaysiakini.

Yesterday, Khairy, who is also youth and sports minister, dismissed Khairuddin's complaint against 1MDB as weak.

"To date, it is not supported by any facts or arguments that can prove what he said is true.
 
"Anyone can make general statements to draw attention. At the end of the day, people would evaluate it based on substance. In this case, I don't find any substance," Khairy said.

On Dec 12, the Penang Umno leader caused a stir when he filed the police report against 1MDB and its directors.

Since the debt-ridden firm is the brainchild of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, speculation has been rife of an internal move in Umno to oust the Najib, who is the party president.

However, Khairuddin denied having acted on behalf of others, especially former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who, like the opposition, has been critical of 1MDB.

Meanwhile, Khairuddin claimed that he had met Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor three times since he lodged the police report. This is despite Tengku Adnan’s instruction for him to withdraw the police report.

Khairuddin said Tengku Adnan’s reprimand was merely an advice from “the eldest brother to the youngest sibling”.

'Tengku Adnan is my political teacher'

“I respect Tengku Adnan. He is my political teacher and we have a close relationship. We contact each other every week,” he said.

Khairuddin said the meetings with Tengku Adnan (left) were somewhat related to 1MDB. He, however, did not reveal further details and said that he will explain them in a press conference soon.

Tengku Adnan had urged Khairuddin to withdraw the police report and had said that the latter was being “childish” and “unfair”.

When asked to comment on Batu Kawan Umno chief Mohd Noor Ahmad’s statement that his actions did not represent the division, Khairuddin admitted this and said that the report was lodged based on his personal capacity.

“I love the Batu Kawan Umno leadership. What my chief said is right. I lodged the report based on my personal capacity and it has no relation to Batu Kawan Umno and Penang Umno."  

He rationalised that his action was in order to block the opposition from harping on the issue further and to let the authorities investigate the matter.