Malaysia’s Mahathir being probed for ‘fake news’

MALAYSIAN opposition leader Mahathir Mohamad is under investigation for allegedly spreading “fake news” after claiming his plane was sabotaged, police said on Thursday, just days before a closely fought election.

Veteran ex-premier Mahathir, 92, is seeking to oust his former protege, Prime Minister Najib Razak, in the general election next Wednesday at the head of an opposition alliance.

As campaigning got underway at the weekend, Mahathir claimed that there had been an attempt to sabotage a plane he had chartered to prevent him heading to the island of Langkawi to formally register his candidacy for the election.

He still made it to the island by taking another plane. Malaysia’s civil aviation authority and the charter company said there was a technical issue with the plane but rejected the allega- tions of sabotage.

Kuala Lumpur police said a report had been lodged accusing Mahathir of spreading “fake news” under a controversial new law, which critics say is aimed at cracking down on dissent before the poll.

“We have opened an investigation [into Mahathir] under the anti-fake news law,” the capital’s police chief Mazlan Lazim said.

“We will conduct the normal process of investigation.”

Local media reported that the police complaint was lodged by a group that supports Najib’s party, the United Malays National Organisation, which said Mahathir’s claims of sabotage had caused anxiety among Malaysians. Mahathir dismissed the claims and challenged authorities to take him to court.

“They can charge me in court. I have no fake news. Only truth,” he said, according to the Star.

The law aimed at combating fake news was pushed through parliament last month despite an outcry by the opposition and media watchdogs.

It punishes dissemination of any news deemed “wholly or partly fake” with up to six years in jail or a fine. Critics say it is aimed at silencing criticism of Najib.

Mahathir led Malaysia for 22 years and was spurred out of retirement to take on Najib, and is the opposition’s prime ministerial candidate.