Najib's Investigation to be Expedited

Reports and Cases against Najib will be expedited and to be resolved as soon as possible, said PM Mahathir.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday that he was confident that prosecutors will be able to build up a strong case to bring charges against former leader Najib Razak over graft claims linked to debt-laden state fund 1MDB.

Speaking via video conference to The Wall Street Journal CEO Council Meeting in Tokyo, Tun Dr Mahathir, 92, said: “We are slowly getting to the bottom of things and many of our senior officers are volunteering information accompanied, of course, by documents. We think that within a short while we will have a case against him, we will be able to charge him.”

Dr Mahathir added that he is facing the problem of “trying to trust people to investigate him”.

“Some of these people who were with him had sided with him and we do not know who is going to be loyal to this new government,” he said.


When asked if he might be willing to cut a deal to spare Datuk Seri Najib, if he were to offer information that can recover assets to recover part of the US$4.5 billion (S$6 billion) that is allegedly lost by 1MDB, Dr Mahathir would only say: “No deal.”

SEE ALSO: Malaysia's 92-year-old PM says he'll stay in office for 1-2 years
Dr Mahathir had personally ordered travel restrictions on Mr Najib last Saturday after news spread that the latter was about to fly off to Jakarta for a short break.

Former Prime Minister Najib’s Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government was ousted in the historic election held last Wednesday (May 9) that marked the first time power has changed hands in the history of Malaysia.

Jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim will receive a royal pardon on Wednesday, Dr Mahathir said, which will pave the way for the Pakatan Harapan (PH) prime minister-in-waiting to run in a by-election and become an MP.

Dr Mahathir, who first led the country from 1981 to 2003 under Umno, is currently Prime Minister under an agreement with PH that he would eventually hand over power to Mr Anwar, whose Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has the most MPs in the four-party alliance.

He told the conference on Tuesday that he will remain as prime minister for one or two years – and would continue to play a role in the background even after he steps down.

In the immediate future, however, Dr Mahathir said Mr Anwar will play the same role in the PKR coalition as leaders of the other three parties in the alliance.

Mahathir Update On New Cabinet, Anwar, Najib Investigation, Sacking of AG, etc.

PM Mahathir's first working day update (Monday 14th May).

Replaced AG, who is asked to go on leave. Update on Jho Low's whereabout. Cabinet formation and restriction imposed on corrupted officials including Najib and Rosmah.

PM Mahathir's Message For Sabah and Sarawak

New PM Named 3 Ministers

PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has announced the appointment of three Cabinet ministers and an advisory council. PKR leaders were, however, conspicuously absent, signalling that the lineup was, perhaps, not final.

Tun Dr Mahathir: First Press Conference As The New Malaysian Prime Minister

Congratulations to the new Prime Minister of Malaysia. Well Done!

First Speech as Prime Minister Again

Malaysia election 2018 results: Ruling party SHOCK defeat as 92-year-old secures VICTORY

MALAYSIA election results shook the world last night as 92-year-old Mahathir Mohamad secured a shock victory, ousting Najib Razak's ruling party for the first time in the country's history.

Malaysia went to the polls yesterday and Najib Razak’s long-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) party lost seats in key states that have traditionally been strongholds.

Riding a surge of late support was Mr Mahathir and his Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) party, who have secured the majority of 112 seats needed.

The new PM, who will become the world's oldest elected leader at the age of 92, released a statement this morning calling for the urgent formation of a government and for him to be immediately sworn in.

"There has been some delays over a lack of understanding of the constitution, but we'd like to make it clear that there is an urgency here: We need to form the government now — today," Mahathir said.

"That is because currently there is no government of Malaysia."

Sitting PM Razak said he accepted the decision of the vote but argued that no party had won a majority, calling for the country's King to make a decision on who will lead the country.

He said: "I accept, and my friends also accept, the verdict that has been delivered by the people and because no party has gotten a simple majority, therefore the king will be making a decision as to who will be the prime minister."

After urging caution early on in the evening, the Election Commission confirmed last night the opposition alliance had secured victory.

Mr Najib, whose father and uncle both served as Prime Minister, had suffered a loss of support following a series of scandals in recent years.

Mr Mahathir had previously served as Prime Minister for 22 years until 2003.

In recent years he ended his retirement following after becoming angered at Mr Najib's scandals.

A simple majority of 112 seats is required by a party or alliance to rule, a number Mr Mahathir said his party had won.

He said: "We believe that from our official counting that they're left far behind.

"The likelihood is that they will not be forming the government."

He later said he expected to be sworn in as PM in the next day or so.

Protests have begun as opposition supporters fear a controversially-tight final result - with anger growing over postal votes and allegations of fraud.

Many Malaysians living abroad were unhappy with the polling day falling on a Wednesday, as millions of voters were unable to cast their vote.

And last night riot police were called to a results counting centre in Ayer Hiram, Jahor, after crowds were seen stopping unmarked cars from entering.

Hundreds of people can be seen in photos taken at the scene, amid rumours the election commission has refused to sign off a victory for the opposition.

BN has faced a far greater challenge in this election than ever before amid public anger over the cost of living and a multi-billion-dollar scandal that has dogged Mr Najib since 2015.

An election-eve opinion poll suggested support for BN was slipping and Mr Mahathir's alliance would land the most votes in peninsular Malaysia, home to 80 percent of the population in this Southeast Asian nation.

However, under Malaysia's electoral system, the party or alliance with the majority of parliament seats wins, and going into the poll most experts believed that was within the prime minister's reach.

Voters complained on social media groups of long queues outside polling centres, which resulted in a waiting time of up to three hours for some. Opposition leaders had called for voting hours to be extended.

Most results are expected before midnight local time (5pm BST) but the count may spill into the early hours of Thursday.

Malaysia's majority ethnic-Malay Muslims support BN for affirmative-action policies that give them government contracts, cheap housing and guaranteed university admissions.

Mr Mahathir's opposition alliance, which counts on urban votes and support from the minority ethnic-Chinese and Indian communities, hoped that with the former leader of UMNO as its standard bearer it would draw in Malay voters traditionally loyal to BN.

However, Mr Mahathir is a polarising figure and many voters are suspicious of him because of his attacks on independent institutions when he was prime minister between 1981 and 2003.


Mr Najib has been buffeted by the scandal over 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a state fund from which billions of dollars were allegedly siphoned off.

U.S. Attorney-General Jeff Sessions has described the scandal at the fund set up by Najib as the worst form of kleptocracy.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed several lawsuits to seize more than $1.7 billion in assets believed to have been stolen from 1MDB.

Mr Najib, who was chairman of 1MDB's advisory board, has denied any wrongdoing and has been cleared of any offence by Malaysia's attorney general.

Power is a Najib family trait, with his father Abdul Razak and uncle Hussein Onn also serving as Malaysia’s prime minister in the past.

When his father died he became an MP at the age of just 23, soon after he graduated from the University of Nottingham.

After serving in a variety of cabinet roles he became Deputy Prime Minister in 2004 and Prime Minister in 2009.

Whether he still holds this role at the end of play today remains to be seen.

Mahathir to Lead Malaysian Opposition

 Malaysia’s opposition named Mahathir Mohamad, 92, as candidate for prime minister in an election that must be held by August. 

Mahathir Under Attack from Johor Sultan for his Wild Remarks

The Sultan of Johor has criticised Dr Mahathir Mohamad for trying to play “racial politics” in an attempt to drive away mainland China investments from the state, The Star reported in an exclusive interview with the state monarch, published today.

 Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar accused the former prime minister of “creating fear, using race to fulfil political motives”. “He’s playing the politics of fear and race, which have no place in Johor as I do not believe in racial politics. “He is insulting these rich Chinese property investors. They are not hard up for Malaysian citizenship. Many of them have properties in other countries including Australia and the United Kingdom.

 “He’s not stupid, he’s just selfish and opportunistic,” Sultan Ibrahim told The Star, citing Mahathir’s allegations about Putrajaya intending to give Malaysian citizenship to 700,000 mainland Chinese intending to stay in Johor Baru (JB). The monarch said Mahathir had also crossed the line with his “lies” on the issue of land being sold to the Chinese.

 “He is saying that huge tracts of land have been sold to the Chinese, giving the impression that Johor is surrendering land to the Chinese and that we are giving up our sovereignty. “He is even comparing how we gave up Singapore to the British,” Sultan Ibrahim was quoted as saying by the daily. The ruler was referring to reports over the past few months, where Mahathir had been attacking the Forest City development project in Johor, saying that “already thousands of units have been completed and sold to mainland Chi­­nese.”

Aside from saying that land was being sold to fo­­reigners, Mahathir had also said that there would be mass immigration to take up residence in new enclaves in the state. “Let me ask him this, Forest City is to be built on reclamation land and most of these units are condominiums.

In simple language, these units are up in the air. They are strata units. “I would like to ask Mahathir if these foreign buyers can just take their apartments back home or carry off an inch of the reclaimed land,” Sultan Ibrahim said, according to The Star.

 Referring to Mahathir quoting the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg on the 1MDB issue as well as the development projects attracting mainland Chinese investors to Johor, the ruler said it was something the former PM had detested before. “He used to hate the western press but now he is quoting everything from the western press. He has forgotten many things he has done.

 “I find that Mahathir and his allies are only talking negative things, most of which are a figment of his imagination and evil thoughts. “I feel sad for him because he had to lower himself to this point. It is okay to disagree but please do not concoct things,” The Star quoted Sultan Ibrahim as saying.

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MAHATHIR'S RESPONSE:

Malaysia's former prime minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamad, has responded to criticisms by the Sultan of Johor over the sale of land to Chinese companies in the southern state, insisting that such deals are detrimental to the country, unlike foreign investments in the manufacturing sector.

The escalating feud between Dr Mahathir and Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar has centred on the US$42 billion (S$60 billion) Forest City development, which will see four islands reclaimed on the Malaysian side of the Johor Strait and turned into a giant township.

The project is helmed by the Hong Kong-listed Chinese mega-developer Country Garden and a company controlled by the Johor ruler.

In a letter to The Star newspaper yesterday, Dr Mahathir, widely credited with modernising Malaysia and boosting its manufacturing sector during his 22 years in power, wrote: "Yes, I promoted foreign direct investment (FDI). But it was not about buying land in Malaysia, developing it and selling it to foreigners who will stay here. FDI is about investment in the manufacturing industry.

"Malaysian companies will construct the buildings and Malaysians will work in the industries. They will acquire skills and start their own manufacturing business."


He added that Malaysians are capable of undertaking the land development projects being given to Chinese companies, which he said then sell most of the properties to their countrymen.

SULTAN IBRAHIM OF JOHOR said (Dr Mahathir) is giving the impression that Johor is surrendering land to the Chinese and that we are giving up our sovereignty, comparing even how we gave up Singapore to the British. I would like to ask Dr Mahathir if these foreign buyers can just take their apartments back home or carry off an inch of the reclaimed land.

MORE THAN A MILLION FOREIGNERS

There will be in all more than a million foreigners living in JB Forest City and the 60 other developments. These new places will not become a foreign country but they will have an inordinate percentage of foreign people. If they stay long enough, they will be entitled to become citizens of Malaysia.

"When foreigners buy land, there is not even an inflow of capital. Much of the money will be borrowed locally (in China). And they can do their business with their own banks. Whatever foreign companies earn will be expatriated, and will result in outflow of capital," he wrote.

Dr Mahathir, who now leads a Malaysian opposition party, also said Chinese deals in Malaysia should be transparent. He called for the publication of "all documents about the investments, the number of workers, their home countries, the buyers, the banks which finance and all expatriation of funds".

The former premier, who remains influential despite stepping down in 2003, is campaigning to unseat Prime Minister Najib Razak and has repeatedly criticised the Malaysian government's huge push for Chinese companies to enter various sectors of Malaysia's economy, including land and sea transport, energy and property.

In his letter to The Star, Dr Mahathir said his assertion that Johor will be flooded with Chinese nationals was based on previous news reports.

"There will be in all more than a million foreigners living in JB Forest City and the 60 other developments. These new places will not become a foreign country but they will have an inordinate percentage of foreign people. If they stay long enough, they will be entitled to become citizens of Malaysia," he said.

A top Forest City official has said that the development could house 700,000 people, when fully completed in 20 to 30 years' time.

Dr Mahathir's letter was a response to The Star's interview with Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, published in the English daily on Monday.

The Johor ruler had said he was "deeply offended and hurt" by the attacks against mainland Chinese investments in the state, saying that the attacks, if left unchecked, would drive away investors.

Sultan Ibrahim had said: "(Dr Mahathir) is giving the impression that Johor is surrendering land to the Chinese and that we are giving up our sovereignty, comparing even how we gave up Singapore to the British."

The Sultan also said: "I would like to ask Dr Mahathir if these foreign buyers can just take their apartments back home or carry off an inch of the reclaimed land."