It is unfair to say that the sons of Malaysian political leaders have hundreds of millions of dollars because they also have liabilities, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Thursday.

According to a local business magazine, a son of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is worth RM1.14 billion (US$300 million), Mahathir told AFP in an interview.

"He is supposed to have US$300 million. Incidentally, my son has US$100 million (RM380 million), which is of course the value of the shares he has.

"But it doesn't take into account the liabilities. The money is borrowed from the banks, they don't have that kind of money," Mahathir said.

Mahathir accused the opposition of trying to get political mileage out of the alleged involvement of Abdullah's son Kamaluddin in the international nuclear black market scandal.

Drive against corruption

Abdullah has made a drive against corruption a central plank of his campaign ahead of Sunday's elections, while the opposition says a police probe clearing a company owned by his son of wrongdoing in nuclear trade was a whitewash.

The company, Scomi Precision Engineering (Scope), said it had been misled about the purpose and destination of uranium-enrichment centrifuge parts seized on a ship bound for Libya last year.

Mahathir was prime minister of Malaysia for 22 years before handing over to Abdullah on his retirement last October. Two of his sons are involved in business. - AFP