Malaysia: Mahathir Sues Najib Over Alleged Corruption, Abuse of Power

Ratcheting up his effort to remove Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak from office, ex-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against him alleging corruption and abuse of power.

Mahathir and two other plaintiffs are suing Najib to force him to pay the government 2.6 billion ringgit (U.S. $681 million) in exemplary damages and 42 million ringgit (U.S. $10.1 million) in aggravated damages for malfeasance allegedly committed while holding public office, their lawyer said.

The malfeasance was exposed by investigations into financial improprieties under Najib’s leadership, including alleged improprieties linked with the indebted state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), attorney Mohamed Haniff Khatri told BenarNews.

“If each and every effort taken to pass the message to the wrongdoer to step down has been exhausted, and if the wrongdoer further perpetuates the wrongdoings to cling on to his position without remorse, it therefore requires one to seek the aid of the house of the judiciary, as the last bastion of justice,” Haniff said.

The 90-year-old Mahathir, who served as prime minister from 1981 to 2003, is among Najib’s most vocal critics. Since last year he has led calls for Najib to resign over financial scandals, particularly over the deposit of $681 million into his private banks accounts in 2013.

Last month, Mahathir quit the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the party that heads Malaysia’s ruling coalition, in protest over scandals linked to 1MDB. On March 7, Mahathir and an array of former political enemies unveiled a “Citizens’ Declaration” calling for Najib’s ouster by peaceful means.

In January, Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib of potential wrongdoing and ordered that investigations into the PM be closed, saying that “no criminal offense” had been committed. The $681 million was a personal donation to Najib from the Saudi royal family, and most of the money was returned to the donor, according to Apandi.

Najib has maintained he never took the money for his personal gain. The prime minister, who could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit, chairs 1MDB’s advisory board.

Co-plaintiffs

Joining Mahathir in the lawsuit are Khairuddin Abu Hassan, a former UMNO division vice chief, and ex-UMNO member Anina Saadudin.

In 2015, Khairuddin traveled to Switzerland, Britain, France and Hong Kong to draw attention to the 1MDB case, but was later detained in Malaysia under the Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act of 2012 (Sosma) for allegedly plotting against Najib. Anina was removed by UMNO for filing a separate lawsuit against Najib.

The 34-page suit highlights allegations of Najib’s “interferences and financial impropriety” concerning 1MDB and other financial scandals.

“Through the suit, we are seeking justification of Najib’s misconduct … all his obstructions on the authorities investigating the 1MDB debacle, and that is what’s wrong, as it hinders all that could be done in getting to the bottom of the matter,” Haniff told BenarNews.

Mahathir ‘out of options’

Reacting to Mahathir’s latest move against Najib, one of the PM’s strongest allies in the cabinet, Minister of Communications and Multimedia Salleh Said Keruak, posted a blog saying that Mahathir was “clutching at straws.”

Salleh wrote that Mahathir’s suit came only after he had failed to topple Najib through UMNO annual party assembly and by a parliamentary vote of no confidence.

“His accusations are false, so he will fail yet again. He has run out of options,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said that Mahathir had no legal grounds for suing the current prime minister.

“A common man does not have the locus standi to sue Najib [as prime minister]. This is a publicity-seeking political gimmick, Mahathir attempts to invoke the people’s anger,” Jazlan told Malaysia media.

On the contrary, anyone could sue a prime minister, UMNO lawmaker Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a friend of Mahathir, told BenarNews.

“If a minister doesn’t do a satisfactory job or misuses power, the common man who is unhappy with that minister, or any government servant, has the right to take legal action,” the longest-serving MP said.