The police today grilled two Barisan Alternatif (BA) Youth leaders for several hours regarding a report they lodged last month over the alleged wrongdoings by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad during his 22-year tenure.

Angkatan Muda Keadilan chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor and his PAS counterpart Salahuddin Ayub arrived at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters at 11am and left the building only late in the afternoon.

The duo had submitted a long list of complaints in their police report which was lodged on Oct 31, the day Mahathir retired, at the Dang Wangi police station.

Among the allegations made was that Mahathir had blocked investigations into corruption scandals involving high-profile politicians.

They also complained about the abuse of laws such as the Internal Security Act (ISA), the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) to stifle dissent.

Post-cabinet meetings

Contacted later, Mohd Ezam said he spent some six hours with the police substantiating the claims made in the Oct 31 report.

"I told them in detail what I knew from attending post-cabinet meetings when I was serving as political secretary (then to former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim). I also told them that they have to get the minutes of cabinet meetings (to verify) the information. These are all classified," he said.

He said the police were most interested in gathering information about the allegations made about corruption scandals as well as abuse of power by high-ranking members of the government.

In all, the Keadilan leader said he signed 15 pages of testimony by the end of the interview session.

He said he was surprised that the police acted briskly and added that the next step should be for the police to interview other persons named in the reports, particularly the former premier.

"It would be unthinkable if Mahathir was not interviewed about this. I also challenge (Minister in the Prime Minister's Department) Dr Rais Yatim to investigate this matter thoroughly," he said.

Commenting on the report two weeks ago, Rais had criticised the action as a "political game" intended to smear Mahathir's name.

He also threatened that the government may take action against the BA leaders if the report was found to be defamatory.

Media reports

Mohd Ezam also added that he was notified of the interview two days ago by six police personnel who came to his house. "They came around at about midnight. I was supposed to come yesterday but I could not make it."

The Keadilan leader has been found guilty under the OSA for revealing classified documents relating to investigations into graft cases involving International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz and former Malacca chief minister Rahim Thamby Chik.

He is presently on bail pending an appeal.

Meanwhile, PAS Youth chief Salahuddin said he was interviewed for about three hours along similar lines.

Salahuddin, who was questioned separately, said most of the references he made to the police were based on media reports.

"We promised to assist by compiling newspaper cuttings that we have on the issues. We have some of them already but others we have to look in a library."

He said the police did not state any particular time frame for him to deliver the documents.