NAJIB Razak took to Facebook tonight to respond to Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s challenge to show proof that the latter’s sons benefitted from his time in office.
He cited the business dealings of one of Dr Mahathir’s sons, Mirzan, whose entity, Konsortium Perkapalan, needed a bailout from Petronas via MISC during the 1997-1998 economic crisis, as well as his business involvement with Vincent Tan’s brother.
Najib also referenced another of Dr Mahathir’s sons, Mokhzani, saying the latter had been the “largest shareholder of the Hospital Pantai group after buying it from the Vincent Tan-controlled Berjaya group”.
Najib also cited another of Dr Mahathir’s sons, Mukhriz’s dealings as owner of Opcom, which the former claimed was awarded a contract without tender worth RM214 million on the instruction of the Finance Ministry.
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Earlier today, Dr Mahathir had, in a blog post, challenged Najib to show proof that his children benefited from nepotism.
“You say my children were given government contracts (while I was the 7th prime minister).
“I did not even allow my children to do business in Malaysia, much less get government contracts,” Dr Mahathir wrote.
Dr Mahathir also took issue with Najib’s stepson, Riza Aziz, and his recent discharge not amounting to an acquittal after being charged with five counts of money-laundering involving US$248 million (RM1.07 billion) via a Hollywood production house, Red Granite.
Najib, meanwhile, said the deal was “legitimate” and defended Riza, saying he “never received a single dollar direct from 1MDB”.
“Similarly, he was also never charged for abuse of power, theft or corruption by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) despite the fact that majority of the investments were received, used and returned from the US.
“He’s (Riza) paid back some, he continues to repay, so that it would appear as a legitimate loan agreement, which it is, you see. Because when he received it, the banks cleared the source of money so he was not aware at all where it came from,” Najib said.
He also responded to Dr Mahathir’s criticism of Red Granite’s The Wolf of Wall Street, which the latter alluded to being a “pornographic film”.
“It is not a pornographic film. Yes, it has scenes of drug use and some nudity but it is not a pornographic film. It is rated ‘R’ in the US.
“Other successful Riza-produced films includes Dumb and Dumber To and Daddy’s Home – both of which were shown in Malaysian cinemas.” – June 23, 2020.
Comments
Posted 3 years ago by Zainuddin Yusoff · Reply
Posted 3 years ago by Ty Tiko · Reply
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Posted 3 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply
They may have an advantage purely because of the fact that their father is the PM of Malaysia and their business partners think an association with the children will give them a leg up. But that is not to say there was corrupt practices of favouritism.
Posted 3 years ago by Super Duper · Reply
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Posted 3 years ago by Teruna Kelana · Reply