Mahathir accuses Najib of abusing terrorism law

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has come under renewed pressure over his handling of the controversies surrounding trouble state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), after a group of veteran United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) politicians led by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad accused Mr Najib of abusing a counter-terrorism law by bringing it to bear on critics of 1MDB.

“Do you think Matthias and Khairuddin are terrorists? They just reported what they thought are misdeeds of the government … We see a climate of fear among the people. The government is now defining the law according to their own needs. We are here to show that we are against the abuse of the law on our country,” said Dr Mahathir yesterday at a press conference alongside former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former president of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), Ong Tee Keat.

The former premier was referring to the recent arrest, detention and subsequent charges against former UMNO Batu Kawan Division vice-chairman Khairuddin Abu Hassan, and his lawyer, Matthias Chang, under the Security Offences Special Measures Act (SOSMA) 2012, a law strengthened by the government three years ago to combat terrorism.

Mr Khairuddin, who was sacked from his post as division vice-chairman earlier this year, is also believed to have drawn the attention of Swiss, Hong Kong and British authorities to irregularities in 1MDB, resulting in separate investigations being launched against the firm. He was reportedly on his way to meet Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials in the United States when he was barred from leaving Malaysia.

At the same press conference yesterday, the former deputy prime minister also called on UMNO members to raise their concerns over the leadership’s handling of various issues affecting the country at the UMNO General Assembly in December.

“What I am asking (UMNO members) is to be more open and express them, which they can do through various platforms, such as at division meetings or elections and other activities. Do not be fearful of consequences if you are doing the right thing,” said Mr Muhyiddin, who was sacked from his position in Mr Najib’s Cabinet in July, days after he called on the Malaysian Premier to explain the scandal engulfing 1MDB, which has debts of more than RM42 billion (S$14 billion).

In addition to the firm’s debts, the Wall Street Journal reported in July — allegedly from leaked government documents — that up to RM2.6 billion was deposited from 1MDB-linked companies into Mr Najib’s personal bank accounts, two months before the 2013 general election.

Investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) — which was part of a special task force set up to look into the WSJ’s allegations — later confirmed that the money had been deposited into Mr Najib’s accounts, but stated that the money was a political donation from the Middle East, and not from 1MDB as previously alleged.

Meanwhile, the outgoing MACC deputy chief commissioner revealed yesterday that the organisation was in the midst of investigating “the most powerful person in the country” in relation to former 1MDB subsidiary, SRC International.

“For as long as I have served … it never crossed my mind that the commission would face a challenge this big as what we are seeing today. Everyone is in the know that we are carrying out the biggest investigation since 1967,” said Mr Zakaria Jaafar, who declined to name the suspect under investigation. AGENCIES