Apandi dismisses ‘childish’ Mahathir’s call to swear on Quran

Dr Mahathir Mohamad maybe on his 2nd or 3rd childhood, I pity him, says Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali.

PETALING JAYA: Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali has dismissed further comments and accusations made against him by Pakatan Harapan chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad, calling the former prime minister “childish”.

In a posting on his blog yesterday, Mahathir had called for Apandi to swear on the Quran in a mosque if he had indeed not found any wrongdoing by Prime Minister Najib Razak in the investigation into the 1MDB scandal.

Mahathir’s comments followed what Apandi had said on Tuesday, that he only feared God, and that he had nothing to hide pertaining to the 1MDB investigation.

“I do not fear anyone including Mahathir. I don’t fear any human being but I do fear Allah. Whatever I do as the AG is all based on the available facts as contained in the investigation papers. There is nothing to hide,” Apandi told FMT in a text message on Tuesday.

Hovever, Mahathir was not happy with Apandi’s comments and even accused him of lying to save Najib, referring to the need to classify investigation reports by Bank Negara, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the auditor-general under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

“That means he lied. God knows he lied in order to protect Najib from facing the courts. It is a lie and a breach of trust by a prosecutor. Committing a breach of trust is a sin,” said Mahathir, who is also PPBM chairman.

Asked for a response, Apandi simply told FMT: “He has become childish, maybe a 2nd or 3rd childhood. I feel pity for him.”

On Monday, in his maiden speech as Pakatan Harapan chairman at a ceramah in Shah Alam, Mahathir, claimed there were reports linking Najib to the alleged embezzlement of funds from 1MDB, following investigations by MACC, Bank Negara and the auditor-general.

But these reports, he alleged, were sealed under the OSA, making it inaccessible to those without clearance.

“OSA doesn’t mean a criminal act can become an official secret. Hiding evidence of a crime is an offence. We will ask the attorney-general about this,” Mahathir said, referring to Apandi, who had previously cleared Najib of any wrongdoing over allegations related to 1MDB. - FMT