Kuala Lumpur (dpa) – Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad filed a lawsuit against current leader Najib Abdul Razak Wednesday for breach of public duties linked to a scandal over a state investment fund.
Mahathir, 90 years old and still influential in Malaysia, has been one of Najib’s most vocal critics regarding the hundreds of millions of dollars found in the premier’s personal bank account, and has repeatedly demanded his resignation.
The money had come from companies linked to beleaguered state fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), according to US newspaper the Wall Street Journal.
Najib has confirmed he received the money but denied it was from 1MDB, and the Malaysian attorney general exonerated him of any criminal wrongdoing. The money was a political donation from the Saudi royal family, he said.
Mahathir’s lawyer Haniff Khatri said Najib had “actively and deliberately” taken steps to “obstruct, interfere, impede and derail” investigations into 1MDB and the money in his bank account.
Two other plaintiffs are joining Mahathir in the lawsuit, both members of the ruling United Malays National Organization who say they were kicked out of the party for questioning Najib over the 1MDB issue.
Mahathir, who was the premier for 22 years before he retired in 2003, quit the party in protest last month.
The three are seeking damages totalling 2.6 billion ringgit (660 million US dollars) to be paid to the Malaysian government.
