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Sons say Mahathir is “prime suspect” in Malaysian anti-corruption probe

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Mahathir Mohamad– said the 2 eldest sons Malaysiathe anti-corruption agency ordered them to assist investigate their father, revealing for the primary time that the goal of the months-long investigation was the 98-year-old former prime minister.

“My father is the major suspect,” Mokhzani Mahathir, 63, said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur. “We are witnesses of what they are investigating.”

In January, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission ordered Mokhzani and his older brother Mirzan (65) declare your assets whose origins date back to 1981, when Mahathir became prime minister. The warrants are a part of an investigation into offshore business records leaked by a journalist consortium, MACC said on the time, without mentioning that Mahathir was the major goal.

MACC said in an announcement that it was unable to comment or confirm Mokhzani’s comments. Mahathir’s office didn’t reply to a request for comment.

The brothers are helping with the investigation, however the task is arduous and time-consuming, they said in an interview joined by Mirzan via video call. In each cases, the unique February compliance deadlines were prolonged twice.

According to Mokhzani, MACC didn’t provide the brothers with any details of the investigation into Mahathir’s case.

Malaysia asks one other son of Mahathir to indicate his assets as corruption probe unfolds

“We asked, ‘What is the investigation into my father?’ and they were not able to give us that information,” Mokhzani said in an interview on Saturday. “Can you imagine being asked for information that will be used to bring charges against your parent?”

Anwar Ibrahim, who eventually became prime minister in 2022 after a long time of trying for the highest job, is a former protégé of Mahathir and was seen as his successor – before they later fell out. Mahathir fired Anwar from all government posts in 1998, and Anwar was later imprisoned on corruption and sodomy charges, which he denied. These events shocked the nation and turned Anwar into an opposition activist who called for democratic reforms.
Anwar’s government faced criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups last yr following the appointment of the attorney general. dropped 47 criminal charges against Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, a key ally of the ruling coalition. Anwar has denied interfering within the case or the MACC investigation.

Anwar’s press office declined to comment.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim waves the national flag after delivering a National Day speech in Putrajaya last yr. Photo: AP
Mahathir, who led Malaysia for nearly 1 / 4 of a century in two different positions, said at a January news conference – held before Mokhzani was ordered to declare his assets – that the investigation into his son Mirzan was politically motivated. Just days after talking to reporters, Mahathir was admitted to the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur, where he was hospitalized for 53 days. He was fired last week.

Mahathir’s sons said they work with company secretaries and accountants to submit asset declarations.

“It’s almost an impossible task to go all this way,” Mokhzani said, adding that in 1981 he was still a student in Britain. “We don’t remember exactly what everything looked like back then,” he said, adding that every little thing was physical, not digital.

Political disputes had a limited impact on markets.

Anwar said I stole government money… As far as I do know, I didn’t steal a cent

Mahathir Mohamad
The Malaysian ringgit is the perfect performer in Asia this month after the central bank insisted that government-linked firms and funds to repatriate their income abroad and convert it to your local currency. This helped to vary the performance of the currency, which in the primary two months of the yr performed the worst in Southeast Asia after the Thai baht, which was mainly attributable to weaker prospects. ChinaMalaysia’s major trading partner, in addition to the big rate of interest differential with the Fed.

While Malaysia’s benchmark stock index has fallen in five of the last six years, the weak performance in 2024 has been somewhat tempered. The KLCI rose greater than 5 percent as authorities attempt to stabilize the ringgit.

The MACC can also be investigating Daim Zainuddin, former finance minister and shut ally of Mahathir. Both Daims and his wife, Nai’mah Abdul Khalid, were charged in January with failing to declare assets that include the 60-story Ilham Tower constructing in Kuala Lumpur, which the agency seized in December. Both pleaded not guilty. In response to questions on this story, Nai’mah stated that neither she nor her husband had anything more so as to add.
Mahathir and Anwar reunited within the 2018 elections to remove the previous prime minister Najib Razak facing multi-billion dollars 1MDB scandal. Mahathir became prime minister for the second time and agreed at hand over the prime ministership to Anwar at an unspecified date. But squabbles throughout the coalition, including over Mahathir’s resignation as prime minister, helped bring down the administration in 2020.

Last May, Mahathir filed a 150 million ringgit ($31.8 million) defamation lawsuit against Anwar, alleging that the present leader accused him of enriching himself and his members of the family while he was prime minister. The lawsuit was filed after Anwar stated that the one that was in power twice was taking every little thing from his family. Anwar has filed a response to the lawsuit and is in search of to have Mahathir’s lawsuit dismissed.

“Anwar said I stole government money,” Mahathir said at a press conference on January 22. “As far as I know, I haven’t stolen a cent.”

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