KUALA LUMPUR – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s sons, Mirzan Mahathir and Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir, now want the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to specify which years, out of a period of 43 years, are the most pertinent to the agency’s investigation.
They said such specifics would help them gather the necessary information and documents to declare their assets to the MACC.
“As we are required to declare assets acquired over a period of 43 years, and due to the lack of records during that period, it would greatly help us if the MACC could determine the most important time period for their investigation,” the brothers said in a statement today.
They said they were facing genuine difficulties in obtaining documents and rejected allegations that they were taking a long time to comply with MACC’s notices to declare their assets because they had “too much wealth”.
“This is not true at all. In reality, many documents are no longer available, especially from financial institutions and the private sector.
“The Inland Revenue Board, for example, only requires taxpayers to keep records for seven years, and likewise the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
“Nevertheless, we are trying our best to gather the documents but this is becoming nearly impossible as some of them no longer exist,” Mirzan and Mokhzani said.
Mirzan and Mokhzani are currently on extended deadlines to declare their assets as ordered under Section 36(1)(b) of the MACC Act. They were first served with the notice to declare their assets in January.
An MACC source has told Scoop that their current extensions, until May 15 for Mirzan and May 25 for Mokhzani, may be the last ones.
In Mirzan’s case, the agency is investigating his business activities linked to the sale and acquisition of government-linked companies while probing into information in the Panama Papers published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in 2016.
Mokhzani’s name did not appear in the Panama Papers. However, they reiterated today that they are not the main target of MACC’s investigation.
“The notice (to declare assets) we received was issued to us as ‘children’ of a suspect.
“We understand that this entire investigation is to ascertain whether our father, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had abused his power as prime minister to enrich us.
“We reject such allegations and will prove that whatever we have obtained all this while were through legitimate means, using the correct channels, and without any use of criminal activity,” they said.
Last month, their brother Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, who is Pejuang president, also said Dr Mahathir was the real target of MACC’s probe.
He was prime minister from 1981 to 2003, and a second time from 2018 to 2020.
On Thursday, MACC chief Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed Dr Mahathir is being investigated in relation to his sons’ declaration of assets. – April 27, 2024