Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants to know if Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the executives in 1Malaysia Development Bhd paid their taxes or were exempt from doing so. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, July 3, 2015.
In his latest blog posting, the former prime minister said that of late, there has been some selectivity in the focus of the “income tax people”.
He added that while the executives in government-owned state fund 1MDB were paid high salaries, Datuk Seri Najib Razak was not paid anything as adviser to 1MDB, but said the government paid allowances, including utility and transportation bills for the prime minister.
He said this way, all the salary of the prime minister, although lower than that of business executives, could be saved and spent.
"But still the lavish lifestyle must cost a packet. It must be more than what I saved after 29 years in government.
"It is a secret of course. But I just want to ask, have the income tax people investigated the source of the money and the tax paid," he wrote.
He said that everyone who should be investigated must be investigated, adding that in Malaysia even rulers were subjected to certain laws.
"We must be equal before the law and we must be seen to be equal. Everyone who should be investigated by government agencies must be investigated.
"There should be no discrimination," he wrote.
He added that Low also bought luxury flats in New York and Hollywood, and questioned where did the hundreds of millions he paid for the properties come from.
"Has he paid taxes for them?
"He also bought a bank for US$260 million. Where did he get the money? Was it borrowed? Did he sell the bank and pay taxes on the profit?” asked Dr Mahathir.
Dr Mahathir's post comes hours after allegations by business daily The Wall Street Journal that billions of ringgit were channelled to Najib's personal accounts.
The WSJ and Sarawak Report today said investigations into the debt-ridden 1MDB allegedly uncovered billions of ringgit pumped into Najib's personal accounts.
The documents show that US$700 million (RM2.67 billion) was moved among government agencies, banks and entities linked to 1MDB and finally ending up in the prime minister's personal accounts in five separate deposits, WSJ said.
Both quoted from documents from the 1MDB probe carried out by the Malaysian government, with Sarawak Report claiming that the attorney-general was also aware of the information.
Dr Mahathir also questioned the spending of Najib's stepson Riza Aziz, who reportedly spent hundreds of millions of dollars to buy luxury residences in London, New York and Hollywood.
He added that Riza had also spent millions financing Hollywood production “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
Dr Mahathir said that when the Prime Minister's Office said the money was inherited, it drew protests from Najib's brothers.
He added that Tun Abdul Razak was not rich and did not leave hundreds of millions of ringgit for his family.
"So where did this money come from?" said Dr Mahathir.
He said that it was then claimed that the money was from business.
"If he made so much money from business he would have paid income tax.
"Have the income tax people investigated him regarding his business profits?
"How much tax had he paid?
"It is a secret of course. But I hope it is not a cover-up," Dr Mahathir wrote.
1MDB is currently the subject of inquiries by a number of authorities, including the auditor-general, Bank Negara, the police and the bipartisan Public Accounts Committee.
Najib, who is also finance minister and chairs 1MDB's advisory board, has come under severe criticism in recent months over a number of issues, including 1MDB which has amassed RM42 billion in debts after just six years of operation.
- TMI
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