DR M’S SONS SAY MACC NOT INVESTIGATING THEM

They were told to declare assets as a ‘son’ of a person suspected of committing an offence under MACC Act

TAN Sri Mokhzani Mahathir and Mirzan Mahathir, who were asked to declare their assets, said they are not being probed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

“The notice handed out to each of us (to declare our assets) was issued as a ‘son’ of a person suspected to have committed an offence under Section 23 of the MACC Act,” they said in a joint statement.

“We understand the exercise is to determine if our father, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had abused his position as prime minister to enrich us.

“We are keen to disprove these accusations and want to prove that whatever we have earned over the years is through legitimate means and proper channels, without any crime being committed.”

Previously, MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said that Dr Mahathir, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, was being probed.

Mokhzani and Mirzan said they appreciated the MACC giving them an extension of time to declare their assets but hoped the anti-graft agency could provide more details.

“Given that we are required to declare our assets over a period of 43 years and due to the scarcity of information with every passing year, it would greatly assist us if MACC could specify the period that holds the highest significance for their investigations.

“There are insinuations that the reason why we need more time is due to the extent of our wealth.

“This is not true at all.”

They said most of the relevant documents were no longer available, especially those from financial institutions and public sectors.

“The Inland Revenue Board, for example, requires taxpayers to keep sufficient records only for seven years, as does the Registrar of Companies.

“Having said that, we have been working hard to collect these documents, but some are near-impossible to retrieve as they no longer exist.”