- Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has publicly spoken out against corruption investigations into his top aides, claiming the current government is deliberately targeting political opponents.
- Mahathir's comments came after it was revealed that his eldest son Mirzan was targeted by law enforcement authorities.
- “The law is being abused for political purposes,” Mahathir, 98, said at a press conference. “What I am saying clearly is that those who oppose the government will have the law thrown in their faces. Those who support the government can get away with it.”
Former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad has attacked a corruption investigation into his associates as politically motivated, a week after his eldest son was ordered to hand over information to investigators.
Mahathir, a two-time prime minister and a fixture in Malaysian politics for decades, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's government was using corruption charges to go after political opponents.
Mahathir came out of retirement in the wake of the massive 1MDB corruption scandal, toppled the long-running coalition he had previously led, and then teamed up with the opposition to win a brief second term as prime minister in 2018. Ta.
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Businessman Mirzan Mahathir and tycoon Daim Zainuddin lost millions of dollars in the 2021 Pandora Papers leak that revealed offshore accounts held by some of the world's richest people and politicians. It has been revealed that the assets are held offshore.
Anti-corruption authorities on January 17 ordered Mirzan to declare all his assets within 30 days. The authorities had previously launched an investigation into Mr Mahathir's ally and former finance minister Daim. Mirzan is also accused of suspicious transactions related to the sale and acquisition of government-related companies.
Mr Mahathir, 98, said he believed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was hunting for evidence implicating him and accused Mr Anwar of selective prosecution.
Prosecutors last year dropped 47 felony charges against Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi while the trial was still underway.
Mahathir also said that no action was taken against Anti-Corruption Agency chief Azam Baqi over the 2022 stock trading scandal.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on January 22, 2024.
“This is justice for Malaysia under the Anwar government,” Mahathir said at a press conference.
“This law is being misused for political purposes. I am saying unequivocally that those who oppose the government will have the law thrown in their faces. Those who support the government can get away with it.” he said.
Mahathir was president from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He has a long political history with Anwar, who served as deputy prime minister and finance minister in the 1990s before collapsing amid the Asian financial crisis. Mr Anwar was later jailed on charges of corruption and sodomy, claiming the charges against him were set up to kill his political career.
The two joined forces in the 2018 general election to oust the long-term government while Mr. Anwar was imprisoned on a second sodomy charge. Shortly after their victory, he was pardoned by the king. Mr Mahathir later became prime minister for a second time in a deal that called for him to hand over power to Mr Anwar, but the alliance collapsed amid infighting.
Mahathir currently supports the opposition Malay-Islamic Union and has consistently criticized Anwar's unity government, which came to power in November 2022.
The anti-corruption agency announced in August 2022, before Anwar took power, that it had launched an investigation into all organizations and associated assets named in the Pandora and Panama Papers. The richest people hide their money.
Authorities said they have questioned 10 people, including Mirzan and Daim, and recently seized Daim's building. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists announced last week that new leaked documents it had obtained showed that Mr. Dime's family was the beneficiary of a multimillion-dollar trust that invested in real estate in Britain and the United States.
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Dime and her family have taken legal action to challenge the expropriation investigation as unconstitutional, arguing that their offshore assets are the result of legitimate business activities and investments.
