THE publication of articles by Umno-owned newspapers featuring the lavish lifestyle of Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s granddaughter is an act of desperation, said Marina Mahathir.

Marina told The Malaysian Insight that Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia, which in their editions today front-paged reports on the lavish lifestyle of Dr Mahathir’s granddaughter Meera Alyana Mukhriz, were simply trying to draw attention away from the 1MDB scandal.

Meera Alyana’s father and Dr Mahathir’s son, Mukhriz, was former Kedah menteri besar before he was sacked from Umno last June for alleged disciplinary offences.

Marina then sent a link on a report on Prime Minister Najib Razak’s stepson, Riza Aziz, buying properties using funds allegedly stolen from 1MDB.

“Desperate people trying to distract from this,” Marina told The Malaysian Insight in a text message in reference to the article.

The article, quoting the United States Department of Justice (DoJ), stated that Riza had acquired properties abroad and expensive movie posters using funds misappropriated from state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad through Aabar BVI.

The report, dated June 16, also said that apart from properties in the US, Riza also purportedly purchased property in Belgravia.

Belgravia, a district in West London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, is noted for expensive residential properties and is one of the world’s wealthiest districts.

Earlier today, Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian went to town splashing the lifestyle of Meera on their front pages.

Under the headline “Meera Alyana Mukhriz’s celebrity lifestyle”, Utusan’s Sunday edition, Mingguan Malaysia said that Meera had a lavish lifestyle by wearing designer clothes and travelling around the world on a luxury yacht.

Similarly on Berita Harian’s front page article titled “The luxurious life of Dr Mahathir’s granddaughter”, the paper published pictures of Meera and her younger sister Melia Serena on a boat with another friend.

Dr Mahathir has been the chairman of opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan since July and is the most vocal critic of the Najib administration, accusing the prime minister of stealing billions from the country’s coffers. – November 12, 2017.