Liew has come under fire after he was reported to have told the Dewan Negara that Ahmad Sabki Yusof, political secretary to Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Salahuddin Ayub, had purchased the watch.

Yesterday Liew said he had been misquoted and maintained he only told the Senate that Ahmad Sabki had made a statement that he declared his interests to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on the matter. “That is why the MACC freed him,” he told FMT.

The Dewan Negara record shows otherwise, and Liew has yet to respond on this.

Wee said Liew was not following the law and accused him of being a liar.

However, Liew’s private secretary, Mohd Hanafiah Sahih Montoi, said Wee was using the bribery case to divert public attention from his own problems with his party.

He said the Public Prosecutor had yet to decide on whether to press charges in the Ahmad Sabki case. He said the contents of the report were an official secret. “The issue does not arise that Liew tried to clear the name of the senior officer as said by Wee in a Facebook post (on Saturday),”Hanafiah said.

He said Wee should not point fingers at Liew to divert public attention “from the reality and challenges that (Wee) is facing in leading the political party”.

Wee should find out why MCA senators had voted against a motion compelling Dewan Negara members to declare their assets.

“Wee losing control of his MCA senators is an internal party affair but he should not point his finger at Liew to distract the public from the realities and challenges he is facing in leading his party,” Mohd Hanafiah said.