Show proof ala 1MDB that my kids obtained sweetheart deals, Dr M tells Najib
Langkawi MP Dr Mahathir Mohamad maintained that Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, the stepson of ex-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, received a sweetheart deal when he was granted a plea bargain in his money laundering case involving US$248 million (RM1.25 billion) linked to 1MDB.
Mahathir also refuted Najib's counter-accusation that his children and cronies obtained sweetheart deals when he was the prime minister.
Langkawi MP Dr Mahathir Mohamad maintained that Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, the stepson of ex-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, received a sweetheart deal when he was granted a plea bargain in his money laundering case involving US$248 million (RM1.25 billion) linked to 1MDB.
Mahathir also refuted Najib's counter-accusation that his children and cronies obtained sweetheart deals when he was the prime minister.
"Please give documentary evidence of the contracts given to my children, just as documentary evidence proved that you as MO1 (Malaysian Official 1) had taken money from 1MDB.
"Please explain the sweetheart deals involving PM7 (7th prime minister) cronies. Did Riza Aziz buy or did my children buy? And who are the cronies?" Mahathir said in a blog posting today.
The US Department of Justice, in its civil forfeiture suit to recover alleged stolen 1MDB assets referred to Najib as "MO1". Najib in his criticism of Mahathir had merely referred to him as "PM7".
Mahathir in an interview with Malaysiakini likened Riza's plea bargain to "stealing 10 chickens and returning one".
As part of the plea bargain, Riza had to forfeit assets worth an estimated US$108 million (RM416.6 million).
Najib had criticised the analogy, stating that Riza was returning more than the US$248 million involved as he had to pay other parties and not only the Malaysian government.
However, Mahathir said this did not matter as ultimately, the Malaysian government can't recover the full sum it had lost. 1MDB is owned by the Finance Ministry.
"I still maintain that it was a sweetheart deal where you steal US$248 million from 1MDB money and you give back US$107.3 million and keep over US$140 million to enjoy.
"The fact is that you stole from 1MDB US$248 million and the whole amount should be returned. What you pay to somebody else is irrelevant.
"It is like stealing 10 chickens. You should give back all the 10. If you had had a feast of 9 chickens or you sold them to someone, it does not matter.
"The 10 chickens must be returned to the owner. Giving one back will still mean that the chicken owner has lost 9 chickens stolen by the thief," he said.
The alleged 1MDB-linked funds were transferred to Red Granite Pictures, a US-based company co-founded by Riza.
Among the films produced by Riza's production company is the 2013 Oscar-nominated film "The Wolf Of Wall Street".
"Incidentally, please explain why the great movie 'The Wolf of Wall Street' had not been screened in Malaysia. Is it true that it is a pornographic film?" he said.
The film was rated R for "strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language throughout, and for some violence" and was banned in Malaysia.
Mahathir also maintained that his children were not given special benefits when he was prime minister.
"You say my children were given government contracts. I did not even allow my children to do business in Malaysia, much less get government contracts.
"They were not even given government scholarships except Mirzan who got it before I became an MP in 1964. And Mirzan had to pay back 25 percent.
"Only after I stepped down were they doing business in Malaysia – even then not with the government. Certainly no government contracts," he said.
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