Dodgy deals: PM wants to see evidence of WSJ's claim

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said his administration cannot act on the Wall Street Journal's claims that the previous administration was negotiating dodgy deals with China.

He said that WSJ had relied on minutes of a purported meeting between the two parties, and his administration would need those documents before taking action.

"This is a statement made by somebody in the press. They say there are documents, there are documents I suppose, but whether the documents can be shown to us and can be in our hands, before we can accept the statement made (sic).

"So until then, we can't take action. We need to find the documents and make use of the documents that prove that this thing actually happened.

"At the moment it is just a story in the press, that's all," Mahathir said during a press conference after chairing a meeting of the cabinet’s special committee on anti-corruption at the Prime Minister's Office today.

WSJ had cited the purported meeting’s minutes in claiming that China had offered to bail out 1MDB in 2016 in exchange for lucrative pipeline and railway projects under its "One Belt, One Road” initiative.

Both former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur had denied the allegation, while fugitive businessperson Jho Low accused WSJ of fabricating the story for political purposes.

Mahathir brushed off Low’s remarks, saying that the businessperson had been saying the same thing all this while.

"He had said many times that these (1MDB-related allegations) are politically motivated. He is also politically motivated to steal money," Mahathir said in jest.

To a question on efforts to locate Low, the premier said the authorities will eventually locate him and bring him to justice.

"Police can't find him, but we will find him. There are only seven billion people, so it is not that difficult.

"We can find a needle in the haystack, so he will be the needle we will find in the haystack." - Mkini