While one group of university students are preparing to hold a rally to pressure the government to reveal who ‘Malaysian Official 1’ is, another group of students have emerged to oppose the rally.

The group representing ten student organisations said the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) allegations have incited students to take to the streets, which in turn would be disruptive to public order.

They urged students nationwide to reject the 'TangkapMO1' rally slated for Aug 27 and it proponents, and to pressure the DOJ to reveal Malaysian Official 1’s identity instead.

“The DOJ has slandered MO1 by linking him to certain individuals, and thereby dragging and inciting fellow students to take to the streets, disrupt public order, cause damages, and so on.

“We have seen how that each time Bersih took to the streets, many negative things would happen.

“We don’t want this, as students of good ideology and with to prevent such things from happening in the future,” Mahasiswa Turun Parlimen (Mantap) spokesperson Affifi Mohd Aris (photo) told reporters today.

Mantap is an internship programme organised by the BN Backbenchers' Council (BNBBC).

Affifi was speaking at a press conference outside the Dang Wangi Police District Headquaters, where the ten student groups have each lodged a police report against the 'TangkapMO1' rally.

In the police report, they urged the police to monitor the rally under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, and investigate the organisers under the Sedition Act 1948.

Among others, the other nine groups include Majlis Perundangan Pelajar Kebangsaan (MPPK), Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung, BN Youth Volunteers, Sekreteriat Mahasiswa Nasional and Sekretariat Mahasiswi Nasional.

The 'TangkapMO1' rally is slated to be held in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu on Aug 21, to urge the Malaysian government to reveal Malaysian Official 1’s identity.

'Playing with perceptions'

The codename was used to refer to a certain individual in its court filing last month, where the DOJ sought the civil forfeiture of more than US$1 billion in assets, said to have been the illegal proceeds misappropriated from 1MDB laundered through the US financial system.

Malaysian Official 1 is alleged to have received at least US$731 million out of the total US$3.5 billion misappropriated.

Although not named in the court documents, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is widely speculated to be Malaysian Official 1 based on the document’s description of the official.

Najib had consistently denied wrongdoing, while the Malaysian attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali had previously exonerated him.

Affifi said the DOJ should reveal who is Malaysian Official 1 instead of playing with perceptions in Malaysia, adding that the group intends to send a memorandum to the US Embassy pressuring it to do so.

“The DOJ has created a negative perception, whereby some quarters especially the opposition, have seditiously linked MO1 to a certain individual.

“So there is now social discord (as a result). The DOJ needs to reveal who is Malaysian Official 1 to defuse this,” he said.

The DOJ had previously explained that it can only identify individuals who may have a valid claim to the properties being seized, while court rules require that the identities of other persons to be anonymised.

Among those identified are Najib’s stepson Riza Aziz, and the tycoon Low Taek Jho. Riza had described the money he received to fund his purchases as a personal gift.

Asked about the DOJ’s explanation for not revealing Malaysian Official 1’s identity, the students replied that legal principle that one is innocent until proven guilty still stands, and the judicial process should be allowed to take its course.

MPPK president Muhammad Farhan Khairuddin took issue with opposition party organs for insinuating that Najib is Malaysian Official 1, even though Najib was never named in the DOJ’s July 22 court filing.

“This is a question of law. The principles of law are different from those in society and in politics.

"The law should not be mixed with politics. If you want to resolve the DOJ issue, let the be resolved legally...

“The people do not need to be judges on the streets. The people (should) give power and trust to the judicial system. If there is proof that Malaysian Official 1 is a certain individual, show it,” he said.

In the end, he said, it is the students who stand to lose when they take to the streets have action is taken against them by university authorities, such as the three students arrested for trespassing in Perak yesterday while promoting the 'TangkapMO1' rally.