Mahathir’s sons seek ‘patience’ from Malaysia’s anti-graft body amid ‘impossible endeavour’ of digging through assets

Mirzan and Mokhzani said they are compiling all relevant documents, but asked the anti-graft body for patience as they try to collate 43 years’ worth of information
Mahathir Mohamad has accused Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of launching a politically motivated attack on him and his family

Malaysia

Hadi Azmi

Published: 11:17pm, 8 Feb 2024

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Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s two eldest sons, Mirzan and Mokhzani on Thursday pleaded for patience from Malaysia’s anti-graft body, which the brothers say has demanded “an impossible endeavour” of an asset declaration of holdings going back to 1981, the year their father first came to power.

The pair, both multimillionaire businessmen, are embroiled in an anti-corruption probe that has already seen the 98-year-old Mahathir’s close ally, former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, charged in court for failing to disclose his assets.

That followed a similar charge against Daim’s wife, Naimah Abdul Khalid, by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which says it launched its probe based on revelations in the financial data drops in the Panama Papers and the Pandora Papers.

The task at hand in collating 43 years’ worth of information is an impossible endeavour, and we ask for patience and understanding to address MACC’s request

Mirzan and Mokhzanijoint statement

Daim and his Naimah have denied all charges, while Mahathir has accused Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of launching a politically motivated attack on him and his family.

In their first statement since the probe began, Mirzan and Mokhzani said they are compiling all relevant documents but asked the MACC for patience, saying they were given just 30 days to comply before being charged.

“The task at hand in collating 43 years’ worth of information is an impossible endeavour, and we ask for patience and understanding to address MACC’s request,” said Mirzan and Mokhzani in a joint statement.

For Mirzan, the deadline will be on February 16, while for Mokhzani, it is on February 25 according to their lawyer.

Mahathir Mohamad has accused Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of launching a politically motivated attack on him and his family. Photo: AP

The Pandora Papers is a massive leak of financial documents in 2021 which exposed the offshore financial activities of politicians, celebrities, and business leaders around the world. It was preceded by the Panama Papers in 2016.

The statement came in after MACC Chief Azam Baki threatened the two with legal action if they failed to comply, saying his agency has yet to receive anything from either of them.

“Both of them can be charged if they fail to declare their assets in the nearest time. However, they can appeal after the period given [to declare their assets] ends in the middle of this month,” he reportedly said to local newspaper New Straits Times.

Mirzan, 66, who owns stakes in Philippine energy company Petron and its parent firm San Miguel, is being investigated over his ties to the sale and purchase of government-linked companies and information unveiled in the Panama Papers implicating him.

Mokhzani Mahathir is embroiled in an anti-corruption probe. Photo: Reuters/File

Mokhzani, 63, who was listed in 2012 as the 14th richest person in Malaysia by Forbes Asia with an estimated net worth of US$685 million, meanwhile, is being investigated under the anti-money-laundering act.

The brothers, however, claimed that they were not informed about the details of the probe against them.

Last week, the pardon’s board slashed the 12-year sentence meted out to disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak to six years for graft linked to the plunder of state fund 1MDB. Critics say the reduction was backed by Anwar, whose coalition leans on support of Najib’s party, Umno.

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