Dr Mahathir Mohamad has scoffed at Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's claim that the former prime minister is afraid of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the foreign exhange market (forex) scandal.
"On Aidilfitri, I wished Selamat Hari Raya to Najib, but he is always trying to find ways to arrest me.
"That's okay, he has the power. Tangkap lah! (Arrest me)," Mahathir said at a Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Hari Raya open house in Malacca last night.
Last Friday, Najib said Mahathir feared that the forex RCI would lead to criminal prosecution.
The prime minister claimed this is the reason Mahathir was cosying up to his jailed former deputy Anwar Ibrahim, to get the latter to avoid testifying against him.
However, Mahathir rubbished this assertion.
"I'm not working with Anwar because of my personal problems.
“I'm working with Anwar because we have the same goal - to topple the cruel government of Najib," the nonagenarian said to cheers from those in attendance.
"I'm not the one who U-turned, Najib is (the one who did)," added the Bersatu chairperson, explaining that Najib was once a globally respected leader who is now viewed as corrupt.
Bank Negara's dabbling in the forex market saw the central bank suffering major losses during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Mahathir was prime minister.
Matter had been brought to Parliament
Mahathir said the matter had been brought to Parliament before and it was decided that he had not committed any wrongdoing.
The opposition welcomed the RCI into the forex scandal, albeit being almost 30 years late, but it has also demanded an RCI into the 1MDB funds scandal, which the government has ignored.
In his speech, Mahathir also poked fun at the 1MDB scandal, particularly revelations by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) last month that part of the allegedly misappropriated funds were used to buy jewellery, including a US$27.3 million pink diamond necklace.
Mahathir said Bersatu's struggle was based on the truth, and not because of pink diamonds.
The DOJ claimed the pink diamond necklace had been purchased by Jho Low for the wife of Malaysian Official 1 (MO1).
While neither MO1 nor his wife was named by the DOJ, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan said the lawsuit had implicated Prime Minister Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor.
Rahman had last year also confirmed that MO1 was Najib.
However, he said, the fact that Najib was not named showed the prime minister was not a subject of investigations by the DOJ.
Najib has repeatedly denied abusing public funds for personal gain and attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali has cleared the prime minister of any wrongdoing.
A law firm representing Rosmah has warned of legal action against those who make unfounded allegations against its client. - Mkini
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