No political interference in Najib’s trial — Dr M

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad reiterated yesterday that there will not be any political interference in the prosecution of his predecessor Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

He said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition had promised to strictly abide by the separation of powers among the three branches of government in the run-up to the 14th general election and would honour its word.

“One of our promises was that we would honour the separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judiciary, so I cannot interfere with what the Attorney-General wants to do.

“The law must take its course and if the Attorney-General finds sufficient evidence of acts that are criminal, then the AG takes the decision,” he said on the Talk to Al Jazeera programme.

Najib was charged on Wednesday with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of power abuse in relation to RM42 million allegedly misappropriated from a former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) unit, SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Prior to his prosecution, commercial crime investigators raided locations linked to Najib and seized an estimated RM1.1 billion in cash, jewellery and assorted luxury goods.

In his interview with Al Jazeera, Dr Mahathir also expressed disappointment that Saudi Arabia did not comment on Najib’s claim that the RM2.6 billion deposited in his account was a “donation” from one of the kingdom’s royalty.

The second-time prime minister said there was no proof to confirm or deny that the princely sum originated from and returned to the country, as previously alleged by Najib.

The “donation” was first reported over three years ago by US daily Wall Street Journal which broke the 1MDB scandal and started a global investigation into the Malaysian investment fund.

Najib maintains to this day that the RM2.6 billion was a political donation to Umno and claimed again this week that it was cleared by Bank Negara Malaysia at the time.

The central bank’s governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz has denied this.

- Bernama photo Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (centre), who is also Pakatan Harapan chairman, with Deputy Prime Minister, who is also Parti Keadilan Rakyat president, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Defence Minister, who is also Parti Amanah Negara...