Al Jazeera interview was taped, Dr M still in very serious condition

TTF: The interview Dr Mahathir Mohamad is alleged to have given “Talk to Jazeera” may have been taped and did not take place recently (see news item below). 

During the interview, the Prime Minister was quoted as saying that the Attorney-General was free to make a decision if he “finds sufficient evidence.”

But the decision has long been made.

On Wednesday, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak was produced at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to face charges of corruption he was alleged to have committed.

The Attorney-General took a decision to allow proceedings despite knowing that the MACC case against Najib wasn’t based on legitimate evidence but a report filed by the United States (US) Department of Justice (DoJ) in 2016.

The DoJ report was pursuant to a law in the US that allows Civil Forfeitures Complaints to be filed based on mere suspicion by a complainant.

At the time of report, not even the FBI had conducted any investigation into 1MDB or any of its attendant concerns, let alone communicate with the wealth fund.

Dr Mahathir is currently in critical condition and has medical experts on standby in his bedroom 24/7

The Prime Minister uses a special drug imported from Zurich to give him a boost each time he needs to make a brief appearance for press conferences or other official reasons.

The Council of Eminent Persons instructed the MACC to proceed with the arrest of Najib as a measure of damage control.

The damage control was thought necessary to shift the spotlight away from Mahathir in order that people would not notice his absence.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the law should take its course in the prosecution of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“If the Attorney-General finds sufficient evidence of acts that were criminal then the A-G takes the decision,” he said.

Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying this in an interview with Talk to Al Jazeera.

He explained that one of Pakatan Harapan’s election promises was that they would honour the separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judiciary.

“So I cannot interfere with what the Attorney-General wants to do,” he said.

It was reported that Najib had denied corruption charges over the disappearance of millions of dollars from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) state investment fund, as part of a graft probe while he was in office.

The charges against him so far relate to funds that were allegedly transferred from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB into his personal account.

In 2015, it emerged that four billion dollars had gone missing from the 1MBD sovereign wealth fund, and nearly USD$700m (RM2.6 billion) was allegedly transferred into Najib’s bank account.

Najib has denied any wrongdoing and said the money was a donation from the Saudi royal family, which he had since returned a majority of it.

In the Al Jazeera interview, Dr Mahathir said he was disappointed as the Saudis did not deny involvement in the case.

However, he also said that so far there was no proof of the country’s role.

“So, we can’t accuse Saudi Arabia, unless, of course, there is proof that Saudi Arabia has tried to interfere in Malaysian politics,” he said.

Source: NST Online