Najib could be charged soon: Dr Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR — Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak could be charged soon over graft allegations linked to state fund 1MDB, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said, adding that he will not strike a deal with his immediate predecessor.

Dr Mahathir said he was confident that prosecutors will be able to build up a strong case to bring charges against Datuk Seri Najib.

“We are slowly getting to the bottom of things and many of our senior officers are volunteering information accompanied, of course, by documents,” Dr Mahathir said via video conference to The Wall Street Journal CEO Council Meeting in Tokyo.

“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 was 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.”

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 part of the US$4.5 billion (S$6.02 billion) allegedly lost by 1MDB, Dr Mahathir would only say: “No deal”.

Dr Mahathir had personally ordered travel restrictions on Datuk Seri Najib last Saturday (May 12) after news spread that the latter was about to fly off to Jakarta for a short break.

Datuk Seri Najib has repeatedly denied wrongdoing after 2015 revelations that around US$700 million appeared in his personal accounts before the prior election in 2013.

In 2016, the then-attorney general cleared Datuk Seri Najib after saying the money in his account was a “personal donation” from a Saudi royal family member, and most of it was returned. Saudi Arabia said it was a “genuine donation,” without explaining the purpose of the funds.

Dr Mahathir said that whether Datuk Seri Najib would serve time in prison would depend on the results of an investigation.

"If there is no case, we don't go for detention without trial," he said.

He also told the conference 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 initial stages, maybe lasting one or two years, I will have to be the prime minister and I will have to run the country,” Mahathir said via video conference to a Wall Street Journal event in Tokyo.

“The reason why the public supported us is they have faith in the leadership of the opposition to resolve some of the problems.”

Dr Mahathir, 92, whose four-party Pakata Harapan coalition won a shock victory over former leader Najib Razak on May 9, also said reformist politician and coalition partner Anwar Ibrahim would be released from jail on Wednesday.

Dr Mahathir added that Anwar, after his release, would need to seek a seat in parliament and then might be given a cabinet post, but would play the same role in the coalition as leaders of the other three parties in the alliance.

"I expect him to play the same role as the leaders of the other three parties. There will be no special powers given except as are given to ministers or deputy ministers or deputy prime ministers," he said, reiterating that he calls the shots in Cabinet appointments.

Anwar and his party allied with Dr Mahathir to win the general election last week. Dr Mahathir had promised during the campaign to secure a pardon for Anwar and then step down and give him the prime minister’s post.

Questions over how long he plans to stay on as prime minister risk undermining an agenda that included scrapping a goods-and-services tax, reviewing large infrastructure projects and cutting spending.

“I expect some resistance,” Dr Mahathir said of differences in his coalition government in forming the cabinet. “So far we have been able to resolve. It is accepted that the final decision will be made by me.”

Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail on Tuesday said that the ruling coalition is focusing on reforms and will not rush Anwar’s installation as the eighth prime minister.

“What we want for Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s government is for it to run smoothly, for it to bring about the change we want,” Dr Wan Azizah, who is Anwar’s wife, was quoted as saying by the Malaysiakini news portal.

When pressed to say if Anwar will be swiftly installed as a new preimier once he can be elected to Parliament, she replied in the negative.

“This is all part of what we have planned,” she was further quoted as saying. AGENCIES