FORMER prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said that he leased the land supposedly gifted to him in Langkawi, rebutting an accusation by his protégé Najib Razak earlier.

Najib, also a former prime minister, had accused Dr Mahathir of acquiring the land for free, but the Langkawi MP said in his blogpost that he was paying for the lease.

“This land lease comes with payments and it is not a gift, as some people are claiming. I did not get it for free, not even a discount,” he said on his chedet blog.

“This person even published ‘evidence’ of a land lease in Langkawi. If it is a lease, it means I still have to pay for it.

“This person is trying to divert the attention from his claims to have rejected his own request for a luxury property,” Dr Mahathir said, without referring to Najib by name.

Last week in a Facebook post, Najib alleged Dr Mahathir had been offered a 60-year lease on a 13.8ha beachfront property in 2014, for just RM3,200 per year.

Najib was apparently trying to divert attention after he came under attack from Dr Mahathir in Parliament over his application to the government for a RM100 million plot of land and house in Kuala Lumpur.

Najib was reportedly trying to secure the land under an agreement to gift former prime ministers a property as a gesture of appreciation for their service.

It was Dr Mahathir’s contention the property is supposed to be modest in value.

The latest confrontation between Dr Mahathir and Najib started when Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz told the Dewan Rakyat that the cabinet received an application from Najib to obtain a property worth RM100 million in Kuala Lumpur.

Najib came under heavy criticism for his apparent audacity, given his conviction for money laundering, criminal breach of trust and abuse of power, with more corruption cases pending.

Tengku Zafrul had said the cabinet received Najib’s request after Budget 2022 was tabled. 

Najib said later that he would withdraw his application, following the public backlash.

In his post, Dr Mahathir revealed that he had returned the land back to Langkawi Development Authority after the lease was increased multiple times.

The two-time former prime minister also said he is willing to co-operate if the authorities believe he has broken the law. – November 30, 2021.