Malaysia’s former prime minister should face criminal investigation, says inquiry
Kuala Lumpur — On Thursday, an inquiry into huge losses by Malaysia’s central bank recommended Mahathir Mohamad face a criminal investigation, ahead of polls at which the former premier wants to oust the current government. The final report by the official Royal Commission of Inquiry into the scandal in the 1990s during Mahathir’s tenure also recommended that Anwar Ibrahim — finance minister at the time and now a leading opposition figure languishing in jail — face a criminal probe. Mahathir, who led Malaysia for 22 years and has come out of retirement to take on scandal-hit Prime Minister Najib Razak, previously denounced the investigation into multi-billion-dollar foreign exchange losses as a "vindictive" attempt to target him and deflect attention from the government’s problems. Najib is battling allegations that billions of dollars were looted from crisis-hit sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. Najib and the fund deny any wrongdoing. He must call elections by August and political tensio...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.