Mahathir reminds Anwar of yet-to-be-withdrawn SD by BNM executive

Former leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad has reminded Anwar Ibrahim of a statutory declaration detailing how the prime minister allegedly syphoned off hundreds of millions of ringgit, saying the document has yet to be retracted more than two decades later.

Mahathir referred to a 1999 statutory declaration by former Bank Negara Malaysia assistant governor Abdul Murad Khalid detailing how Anwar used him and businessmen to hide billions of ringgit in master accounts.

"Although Anwar was never found guilty, why did not Murad withdraw his affidavit? Were Anwar's wife and children asked to declare their assets?" asked Mahathir in a short post.

Murad, who was charged in 1999 for failing to declare company shares and property, stood by his 20-paragraph document, which said, among other things, that Anwar had instructed him to carry out "corporate exercises" to use profits from deals with the central bank to pay off the debts of his friends and cronies.

Early last year, Tong Kooi Ong, one of the businessmen involved in Murad's affidavit, urged its retraction.

"What I seek is simple. For Murad to publicly withdraw his SD now. Apologies are not necessary," Tong wrote in The Edge, the financial newspaper he owns.

Mahathir also challenged Anwar to prove that he amassed billions of ringgit, an allegation that is at the centre of a lawsuit filed by the veteran leader.

"The suit was filed more than a year ago. To date, Anwar has not been able to prove that I have billions of ringgit.

"That means I have not yet been found guilty. If the MACC has evidence, then show it," he said, referring to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission which had recently summoned his sons.

Mahathir, meanwhile, denied a claim by police chief Razarudin Husain that he was not being treated as a criminal.

He provided details of a notice from the MACC to his son Mirzan stating that Mahathir had committed an offence under Section 23 of the MACC Act.

"As far as I know, I have never been investigated. But the MACC notice says that I have committed an offence."

He then fired a salvo at MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki, who was embroiled in a controversy over the ownership of shares in 2022.

"Why was his brother not thoroughly investigated like my son was?"