Mahathir defends dismissal of ex-AG Apandi after Zeti’s NFA court testimony
The former prime minister says Apandi’s failure to act on reports by Bank Negara proves that he was not doing his duty as the attorney-general.
(MalaysiaNow) – Dr Mahathir Mohamad today defended his move to dismiss Mohamed Apandi Ali as attorney-general despite the lawsuit later brought against him, saying recent court testimonies by ex-central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz that her report of wrongdoing by top 1MDB officials had been classified as no further action (NFA) were proof of “dereliction of duty” on Apandi’s part.
The former leader said Apandi, whose contract he terminated during his second tenure as prime minister, had sued him for wrongful dismissal although he was prepared to explain his decision to the court.
In a statement, he cited as example Apandi’s move to clear former prime minister Najib Razak of wrongdoing in relation to the 1MDB scandal.
“Yet when another attorney-general brought Najib’s cases to court, three courts and nine judges found Najib guilty,” he said.
“Clearly Apandi as attorney-general did not study the case thoroughly before declaring that Najib had no case to answer.
“This again shows a dereliction of duty on the part of Apandi.”
Zeti testified in court that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had recommended that the three top officials of 1MDB be charged over the company’s scandal.
She said her request for the trio to be charged was made to Apandi, but that no action was taken.
