FORMER prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad repeated his call that his former protege Anwar Ibrahim should be released from prison and be allowed to participate in politics again, according to an interview he gave British newspaper The Guardian today.

“In the case of Anwar, we can make a case that he was unfairly treated. The decision of the court was obviously influenced by the government and I think the incoming government would be able to persuade the King to give a full pardon for Anwar,” Mahathir said. 

The Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairman also said he would back Anwar to be prime minister if he was released.

“In which case he would be able to participate in politics and become PM. I can have no objection to that.”

Dr Mahathir, who was prime minister from 1981 to 2003, is backing the man he sacked as his deputy and saw imprisoned on charges of sodomy, in an attempt to unseat the scandal-ridden incumbent.

The 91-year-old, who in power was accused of being an autocrat, said Anwar was a victim of a political vendetta and that a new administration would seek a royal pardon to allow him to re-enter politics. 

Anwar’s lawyers are currently seeking to get him released after evidence emerged that one of the government prosecutors was paid RM9.5 million from a bank account belonging to the prime minister.

The prominent lawyer, Shafee Abdullah, told reporters that he would respond to the allegation on June 9 but has yet to do so.

Meanwhile, the Kuala Lumpur High Court has ordered the government and Shafee to respond to Anwar’s application to set aside the conviction following the revelation by Sarawak Report on May 31 that suggested the government-appointed prosecutor was paid a sum from a bank account controlled by the prime minister.

Human rights groups have long said the allegations against Anwar are politically motivated attempts by his opponents, including Dr Mahathir and the current prime minister Najib Razak, to silence him. 

According to The Guardian, Dr Mahathir  appears to now accept that he made a mistake by not allowing Anwar to “succeed him”, and that he held on to power for too long, only to anoint two men who subsequently disappointed him, especially the current PM Najib, who is embroiled in one of the world’s largest kleptocracy cases.

According to lawsuits filed by the United States Department of Justice (DoJ), at least US$4.5 billion (RM19.3 billion) has been stolen from a state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd. 

The purpose of the fund, which was set up by Najib as prime minister in 2009, was to promote economic development in Malaysia. 

Instead, the DoJ alleged that stolen money from 1MDB found its way to numerous associates of Najib, who subsequently went on a lavish spending spree across the world. 

DoJ also accused Najib of receiving US$681m of cash from 1MDB. Najib has denied that claim, and all other allegations of wrongdoing.

Money from 1MDB, the US also claimed, helped to purchase luxury apartments in Manhattan, mansions in Los Angeles, paintings by Monet, a corporate jet, and even financed the Wolf of Wall Street, a major Hollywood movie. 

Last week, Australian model and actress Miranda Kerr handed over US$8m of jewellery that US authorities say was given to her as part of a Malaysian money-laundering scheme. 

“Najib is bad news for Malaysia. For the PM to be accused of stealing huge sums of money, I think that is something we don’t expect of any other PM. Certainly not in Malaysia. The money he is said to have taken is mind boggling,” said Dr Mahathir.

Dr Mahathir said he never foresaw a prime minister like Najib who was willing to “implement laws in a much more oppressive way than during my time”.

“Are the checks and balances not good enough? I agree to a certain extent they are not. We in Malaysia live in a multiracial society and cannot be ever as liberal, I think, as the USA or Britain. 

“But we should allow free expression in the press. Najib has a new security act that allows him to declare any territory under a state of emergency and detain people without any reason. I inherited and used the law. I did not abolish it and make another one even worse.” – July 6, 2017.