By Dr Mohd Safar Hasim
When Malaysians speak today about the 1MDB scandal, they often focus on the courtrooms, the political shifts, and the high-profile figures finally facing justice.
But the true story of 1MDB did not begin in a courtroom. It began in quiet rooms, in encrypted messages, in late night editorial meetings, and in the hearts of individuals who refused to look away.
Before the world knew the scale of the theft, before governments acted, before prosecutors assembled their cases, a small group of whistleblowers and journalists had already risked everything to expose the truth.
These are the unsung heroes of 1MDB — the people without whom Malaysia might still be in the dark.
The First Sparks: A Leak That Changed Everything
The first major crack in the 1MDB façade came not from a government agency, but from a man working thousands of kilometres away. Xavier Justo, a former PetroSaudi executive, made a decision that would alter the course of Malaysian history. He leaked internal PetroSaudi data — emails, documents, agreements — that revealed how the PetroSaudi–1MDB joint venture had been used to siphon money into entities linked to Jho Low.
Justo paid a heavy price. He was arrested in Thailand, imprisoned, and subjected to a global smear campaign. Yet his leak became the backbone of the earliest exposés. Without him, the world would never have seen the inner workings of the PetroSaudi deal. His courage lit the first spark.
The Amplifier: Sarawak Report
If Justo lit the spark, Clare Rewcastle-Brown turned it into a fire. Operating from London with a tiny team and no institutional protection, she analysed the PetroSaudi data and began publishing explosive stories in early 2015. Her platform, Sarawak Report, became the first global window into the scandal.
She faced threats, lawsuits, and attempts to discredit her. Her website was blocked in Malaysia. Yet she persisted. Her reporting forced the world to pay attention. It also gave Malaysian investigators the confidence that they were not alone.
The Edge: Malaysia’s First Red Flag
Long before the scandal became global, The Edge had already sounded the alarm. In March 2014, it reported that 1MDB had accumulated more than US$10 billion in debt. This was the first major red flag raised by Malaysian media. It was a warning that the public did not yet understand, but one that history would later vindicate.
In 2015, The Edge published detailed investigative pieces based on leaked documents and financial analyses. For this, the newspaper was suspended. Its journalists were threatened. Yet they continued their work. Their reporting provided the Malaysian public with clarity at a time when official statements were muddy and evasive.
The Wall Street Journal: The Global Spotlight
The scandal exploded internationally when The Wall Street Journal published its July 2015 report revealing that US$681 million had entered Najib Razak’s personal accounts. This was the moment the world could no longer ignore 1MDB. The WSJ journalists — Tom Wright and Bradley Hope — faced legal threats and political attacks, yet their reporting stood firm.
Their later book, Billion Dollar Whale, would become the definitive global account of Jho Low’s financial empire.
The Bridge Between Malaysia and the World: Khairuddin Abu Hassan & Matthias Chang
While journalists and whistleblowers were exposing the scandal in the media, two Malaysians took the fight directly to the world’s enforcement agencies.
Khairuddin Abu Hassan — The Relentless Crusader
Khairuddin, the former UMNO Batu Kawan vice chief, was among the earliest Malaysians to publicly question 1MDB. When domestic institutions were compromised, he took the extraordinary step of filing reports with authorities in:
Switzerland
Singapore
Hong Kong
France
the United Kingdom
the United States
For this, he was arrested and detained under SOSMA, the antiterrorism law. He was accused of “sabotaging the banking and financial services of Malaysia” — simply for reporting wrongdoing.
Years later, the courts vindicated him. His detention was ruled unlawful. The very act he was punished for became the foundation of global investigations.
Matthias Chang — The Strategist and Shield
Standing beside Khairuddin was Matthias Chang, a lawyer and longtime associate of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He helped structure the legal complaints, organise the documentation, and ensure that foreign regulators received credible, actionable evidence.
He too was detained. He too suffered reputational attacks. But he never wavered. Together, Khairuddin and Mathias formed the bridge between Malaysia’s internal whistleblowers and the global enforcement machinery that would later seize assets, freeze accounts, and expose the scale of the theft.
Their courage ensured that the truth could not be contained within Malaysia’s borders.
The Silent Whistleblowers: Inside Malaysia’s Institutions
Not all whistleblowers were public. Many were anonymous officers inside:
* Bank Negara Malaysia
* Ambank
* MACC
* The Attorney General’s Chambers
These individuals leaked documents, confirmed transactions, and provided investigators with the trails they needed. They did so quietly, without recognition, and often at great personal risk. Some were transferred. Some were interrogated. Some were threatened. But they refused to let the truth die.
The Parallel Fronts: Media and Whistleblowers Working in Tandem
The exposure of 1MDB was not the work of one person or one institution. It was a parallel movement:
* Whistleblowers leaked documents.
* Journalists analysed and published them.
* International media amplified the story.
* Civil servants confirmed the trails.
* Matthias and Khairuddin carried evidence to global regulators.
This parallel movement created a momentum that could not be stopped. Even when the state machinery tried to silence the truth — through raids, suspensions, arrests, and intimidation — the information was already out in the world.
Why Their Role Matters
The 1MDB scandal is often described as the largest kleptocracy case in modern history. But it is also one of the greatest examples of how truth can survive even when institutions fail. Without whistleblowers and journalists, the scandal would have remained buried. The public would have remained blind. The courts would have had nothing to work with.
Their courage is a reminder that democracy does not survive on elections alone. It survives on transparency, accountability, and the willingness of ordinary people to speak up when something is wrong.
A Debt We Cannot Repay
Today, as Malaysia watches the 1MDB prosecutions unfold, we must remember that justice did not begin in the courtroom. It began with individuals who refused to be silent. Their names may not appear in legal judgments, but their fingerprints are on every page of the 1MDB story.
Malaysia owes them a debt that cannot be repaid — except by ensuring that future whistleblowers and journalists will never again be punished for telling the truth.
The views expressed here are entirely those of the writer, Dr Mohd Safar Hasim, a Council Member of the Malaysian Press Institute
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