‘INTERPOL TO TRACK DOWN NAJIB IF HE FLEES AFTER LOSING GE14’ – MAHATHIR DROPS BOMBSHELL, ALSO CLAIMS THERE ARE ‘LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO CAN GIVE MORE EVIDENCE ON 1MDB SCANDAL’

In the event that caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his family choose to flee the country if BN loses the 14th general election (GE14), Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the new government could request assistance from foreign authorities, including the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol), to track them down.

In an interview held at his office in Putrajaya on Friday, Mahathir stressed that he personally believed the rule of law would prevail, should Harapan come into power.

“I believe in the rule of law. I don’t believe in privileges for certain people…If he breaks the law, the law will find its way to catch him,” said Mahathir, who is seeking a mandate to return as Malaysia’s seventh prime minister.

“Today we have the Interpol and things like that. If the law finds that he is guilty, and believe me…there is sufficient evidence, and also lots of people who can give more evidence on the matter,” said Mahathir, who referred to three separate outcomes of investigations into 1MDB by the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), MACC, and Bank Negara.

Mahathir also insisted that while Harapan is not out to take “revenge” against Najib, everyone including ex-prime ministers should be subjected to the same rule of law.

“If he (Najib) knows that he has broken the law, he has every reason to be frightened because he has to go before the courts and he may be found guilty.

“And guilty people are jailed. He doesn’t relish that,” Mahathir pointed out.

BN’s GE14 campaign against the opposition’s attacks over 1MDB has largely been based on the outcome of the PAC investigations.

BN has stressed that the PAC had not implicated Najib in any wrongdoing, and has instead attributed the state investment fund’s losses to its management.

MACC had submitted its 1MDB investigation papers to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) in January 2016, after which attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali later declared that there were no grounds for charges to be brought against Najib.

Bank Negara, meanwhile, had in April 2016 issued an administrative fine to 1MDB for failing to adhere to the Financial Services Act 2013.

A month after Najib was cleared by the attorney-general, Mahathir quit Umno for the second time as other party leaders ignored his criticisms surrounding the twin scandals of 1MDB and an RM2.6 billion donation purportedly given by the Saudi Arabian royal family to Najib.

Subsequently, Mahathir launched the “People’s Declaration” movement, set up Bersatu as his new political party, as well as made amends with his former rivals to join forces under Harapan against Najib and BN.

‘Najib told me cash is king’

In his last few months with Umno, Mahathir had openly called for Najib’s resignation as prime minister, as he revealed how the Umno president personally told him that “cash is king” and indicated that the people’s support could be bought.

At the time, Mahathir said Najib purportedly made the remark in response to criticisms over the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) direct cash handout.

In the interview with Malaysiakini, Mahathir once again recalled how he was shocked by Najib’s “cash is king” remark, supposedly made during a meeting at his house.

“He came (Najib) to my house…After I was critical of him,” said Mahathir who claimed that the meeting was arranged by Tabung Haji chairperson Azeez Abdul Rahim.

“Azeez used to be friendly with me, and so he arranged for him (Najib) to come to my house.

“So he (Najib) came to my house. What he did was to ask me, what is it that I want him to do? Meaning to say what projects…,” said Mahathir.

“At the end of that conversation, after I have named four or five different projects which the people wanted, not me, the people wanted, he (Najib) told me, ‘Cash is king’…I was shocked.

“What he is trying to say is that corruption is okay. That is what is meant by cash is king,” Mahathir stressed.

He also repeated claims that Najib’s “cash is king” remark had eventually led to formation of 1MDB as a vehicle to borrow money to fund BN’s electoral campaign.

MKINI