Najib maintains innocence as 1MDB probe picks up steam

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s ousted Prime Minister Najib Razak on Monday said he did not benefit or steal money from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), as authorities searched a new premise and sought additional witnesses in an ongoing probe on the state fund.

Malaysia is investigating allegations that billions of dollars had been siphoned from 1MDB, which Najib founded and was a key reason behind his shock loss in at an election last month. “I would like to repeat that I did not receive any benefits or stole money from 1MDB or any party,” Najib said in a Facebook post, after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Sunday that strong evidence is needed before the authorities can book the former prime minister.

At a dinner with Malaysians living in Japan on Sunday, Mahathir was quoted by Malaysian media saying that it was “not so easy” to arrest and charge Najib as the authorities need evidence that would pass muster before a court.

Malaysia wants to be friendly, not indebted, to China, says Mahathir: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday his country will remain friendly with China, which invested billions of dollars during the previous Najib Razak government, but will not be “indebted to China”.

Mahathir, in Tokyo on his first foreign trip since winning a shock election last month, sought to revive the idea of an East Asia economic group which he said would be useful in the face of China´s surging economic power. “We have to deal with China whether we like it or not. We should deal with it as a group,” Mahathir told an international seminar in Tokyo. Mahathir said he was not against pacts such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, but he said the TPP should be renegotiated so smaller economies like Malaysia can compete against giants China and the United States.