Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin gives a speech during the Cheras UMNO's delegates meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Picture released on July 27, 2015. — Bernama pic

KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) advised today Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to be careful of his remarks on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) pending the completion of investigations into the debt-riddled state investor so as not to adversely affect public opinion towards Putrajaya and Umno.

The PMO also urged Muhyiddin to be patient until the investigations by the government’s special task force and Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), following his criticisms at an Umno event last night.

“Everybody especially the administration staff, including Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin should wait for the result of the investigations,” said a statement by the office.

“We should avoid from making any statements that could negatively affect the public’s perception towards the country’s leadership, in addition the government and Umno.”

The statement also said that an internal tiff in the administration will corrode public support against not only the federal government, but also Umno as it singled out former prime minister-turned-vocal critic of 1MDB Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for his allegedly “baseless” accusations.

Muhyiddin had reportedly told Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last night to explain the 1MDB controversy, claiming that he and other ministers were unaware of the “real facts”.

News website The Star Online also reported Muhyiddin as saying that he was not trying to oust Najib from office by backing the investigation on the state-owned fund that is facing corruption allegations involving the prime minister.

Muhyiddin also reportedly denied having any “malice” in supporting the 1MDB probe, saying: “I have to speak the truth and give my views and advice”.

In a separate report, news portal The Malaysian Insider quoted Muhyiddin saying that he had to read The Edge business paper as he “found it difficult to understand what was going on with 1MDB”.

In response, PMO said today it has previously distributed a fact sheet on 1MDB to all Cabinet ministers to help them understand the issue.

The Home Ministry, however, has suspended the printing permits of The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily for three months starting today, claiming that their 1MDB reports could affect “public order”.

In a report last month, US-based daily Wall Street Journal, citing documents from Malaysian investigators currently scrutinising the troubled 1MDB’s financials, claimed that a money trail showed that US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) were moved among government agencies, banks and companies before it ended up in Najib’s accounts.