Ships must run, Dr M says on luxury yacht’s presence in Langkawi

SINGAPORE: The Equanimity was taken to Langkawi because the yacht cannot remain anchored at one place all the time, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

He said ships would encounter problems if they remained berthed at one place for too long.

“Ships must run... you cannot keep them anchored all the time. Otherwise, they will gather barnacles and things like that.

“So we have to sail it at least once every few days,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said this when asked why the yacht had been taken from Port Klang to Langkawi.

Dr Mahathir, who is here attending the 33rd Asean Summit and Related Summits, responded in jest that he didn’t know about it when asked about the movement of the Equanimity.

“I didn’t know... thank you for telling me. I hope when I go to Langkawi I can see it.”

Dr Mahathir said the courts had decided that the Equanimity belonged to Malaysia and that means “we can put it anywhere”.

“Our intention is not to keep the ship. We don’t need such a big ship... it’s too luxurious for us.

“We want to sell it... So if you can find a buyer, we will be very grateful.”

It was reported that the Equanimity has arrived in Langkawi until the bidding process for the yacht ends on Nov 28.

The vessel has since berthed at the navy base in Langkawi.

The bidding process for the Equanimity began on Oct 28, with interested buyers having to lay down a US$1 million (RM4.6 million) deposit. Bidders could view the vessel and place a bid once the deposit was paid.

According to the United States Department of Justice, the Equanimity was bought by fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, better know as Jho Low, using US$250 million siphoned from 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

Malaysian authorities took custody of the vessel on Aug 6 after it was earlier seized by their Indonesian counterparts. It arrived in Port Klang on the following day, where it was moored until it was taken to Langkawi.

In Kuala Lumpur, the Dewan Rakyat was yesterday told that no one had come forward to challenge the Malaysian court order permitting the sale of the Equanimity.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Hanipa Maidin said Low should have challenged the court order if he was the owner of the yacht.

He was replying to a supplementary question from Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (Pas-Rantau Panjang) who wanted to know whether the yacht belonged to Low.

Hanipa said the memorandum of information regarding the sale of the yacht stated that no one had objected to its sale.