by FAYYADH JAAFAR / pic MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

THE Malaysian government should be ashamed of itself for appointing Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali (picture) to chair any government body, including the committee investigating the Batu Puteh incident, said former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

In a statement today, Dr Mahathir said Mohamed Apandi has failed to perform his duties as the attorney general (AG) and is even suspected of involvement and complicity in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal based on the judgement made by High Court Judge Datuk Azimah Omar in the case of Mohamed Apandi’s lawsuit against Lim Kit Siang.

“Anyone who reads the written judgement dated May 23, 2022, by Azimah, judge of the Kuala Lumpur High Court in the case of Mohamed Apandi’s defamation suit against Lim must conclude that Mohamed Apandi is a fraud, who failed to perform his duties as AG, and there is a basis for investigation because he is suspected of aiding and abetting the crimes of 1MDB,” he said.

He added that in the 100-page judgement, Azimah also stated that “the court, although with all due respect, needs to express its disgust at how disgusting Apandi’s statements are contradictory, evasive and clearly fraudulent”.

“There are many other matters raised by Judge Azimah in her judgement that questions the attitude and actions of Mohamed Apandi, who tried hard to cover up the 1MDB scandal and purify Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said this included Mohamed Apandi’s role in supporting the myth that the RM2.6 billion in Najib’s account was a donation from an Arab king, even though the officials he sent to Saudi Arabia to investigate could not find any evidence that the donation was from any such individual.

“In addition, there was also the attitude of Mohamed Apandi, who rejected mutual legal assistance from the Swiss authorities and also from the Department of Justice of the US, even though he was aware that their assistance was necessary for the 1MDB investigation,” he said.

He said there was much more “damning” evidence written by Azimah in the judgement as the basis for rejecting Mohamed Apandi’s defamation suit against Lim, who in one article, among others, wrote that Mohamed Apandi must explain why he helped and abetted the 1MDB scandal.

“With Azimah’s judgement, this means that the court finds that Lim’s statement against Mohamed Apandi is not slander,” he remarked.

He also expressed disappointment with the decision of AG Tan Sri Idrus Azizan Harun who agreed to make a settlement with Mohamed Apandi, who sued him and the government for firing him in 2018. 

Dr Mahathir also called on the government to start an investigation against Mohamed Apandi because of his involvement in defending and complicity in the 1MDB scandal.