‘I want people treated decently,’ says Dr M
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he wants “people to be treated decently” when he responded to questions yesterday on the late-night raid on Tuesday at the private residence of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
“The police have their standard operating procedure. I didn't know that they should raid at night. But my instruction is very clear. I'm not going to torture people or things like that. I want people to be treated decently,” he said.
At a press conference after chairing a meeting of the Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council here, Dr Mahathir was asked why the police had raided Najib's house at night.
Bukit Aman Commercial CID director Datuk Seri Amar Singh Ishar Singh has confirmed that the police searched the private residence of Najib in Taman Duta, Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday night.
Bernama reporters saw 16 police vehicles, including a truck, arriving at the house at 10.15 pm. The vicinity was swarming with reporters and cameramen from the local and foreign media as well as curious members of the public.
The police also searched another residence of Najib, a luxury apartment in Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur.
PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar said that as a former victim of early morning raids, she strongly disagreed with “ransacking any home during ungodly hours”.
“Charge, investigate, prudently. The principles of justice and wisdom should be applied,” she said in a tweet yesterday.
Parti Amanah Negara communication director Khalid Samad fully agreed with Nurul Izzah on the issue, saying that while there was a need to investigate, there was no need to humiliate or transgress their rights as such.
“Upon completing investigations, charge. No reason to investigate until 4am. I was once taken at 2.30am,” he said in reply to Nurul Izzah's tweet.
Meanwhile, when asked if Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor was also being investigated, Dr Mahathir said that the police were given the responsibility of investigating all criminal cases.
“It doesn't matter who. If there is a case, we will take action.
“It is up to those involved in the investigations,” he said, adding that the investigations involved the police and several agencies such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Auditor-General's Department.
Najib's lawyer Datuk Harpal Singh Grewal told the media at 4am yesterday that police had searched the former premier's house in Taman Duta.
No charges were mentioned, although Harpal believes that it could be under the Anti Money Laundering Act.
Earlier, Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigations Department director Comm Datuk Seri Amar Singh confirmed that police searched five premises belonging to or connected to the former prime minister.
These are believed to be his house in Taman Duta, Sri Perdana, two locations at Pavillion KL and the Prime Minister's Office.
Najib and Rosmah have been blacklisted by the Immigration Department and they are prohibited from leaving the country.
Last week, Dr Mahathir said he expected charges to be filed against Najib following investigations over the removal of hundreds of millions of US dollars from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund.
Dr Mahathir said the police might have reasons for their action but he was not informed about that.