This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on May 17, 2018

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says more wrongdoing took place in 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) than what has been made known to the public.

Dr Mahathir, revealing this yesterday after being briefed on the wrongdoings by the police and Auditor-General Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad, said the new government that he is forming will look into the matter.

“Our main focus is on corruption, particularly in relation to 1MDB, and also monies misappropriated by the former government,” he told a news conference yesterday. “On this, I have been briefed by the police and the auditor-general. It is obvious that there are more wrongdoings than what the public and myself already know.

“There is plenty of evidence, not only on [former prime minister Datuk Seri] Najib [Razak], but also other people who are involved [in relation to 1MDB scandal].

“We will take action. If necessary, we will make a police report. When it is time to arrest, we will arrest those involved. We will not be biased towards any particular person.”

Dr Mahathir said the police will not resort to torture when investigating suspects, and will abide by the rule of law.

“These people will be questioned reasonably, and will not be questioned until 4am or 5am, or being locked in a dark room,” he said.

The prime minister said the government’s focus on corruption is important because it wants to repatriate the money misappropriated from 1MDB in Switzerland, the US, Singapore and possibly Luxembourg.

“We will contact these governments to recover these monies. In the past, there was no acknowledgement from Najib that the monies came from 1MDB and [that] they were laundered in the US.

“Because there was no acknowledgement that they came from Malaysia, no claims were made. We want to state these monies belong to Malaysia and they were from 1MDB, we will request for recovery. The total sum is quite big; it can help us settle a few types of debts,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said he met former attorney-general Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail on Tuesday to find out more about what happened before his service was terminated.

“He claimed that he was preparing to charge Datuk Seri Najib, [but] on that morning he was deprived from going to the office,” the prime minister said.

Abdul Gani, having headed a task force to investigate the 1MDB scandal, was abruptly terminated on July 27, 2015. Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa had said Abdul Gani’s removal was due to health reasons.

However, Abdul Gani continued to serve as a judicial and legal service officer until his retirement on Oct 5, 2015.

Asked if Najib is currently under house arrest, Dr Mahathir said: “As far as I’m concerned, he is not allowed to leave the country, that is the order.”

Reiterating the government would not cut a deal with Najib, he said: “We will follow the rule of law. The law applies to everyone, irrespective of personalities.”