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Bhavan Jaipragas

Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamad Mahathir on Monday said he will replace the country’s attorney general and anti-corruption chief, as officials stepped up a probe into alleged widespread graft in the Barisan Nasional government defeated in last week’s general election. 
Mahathir said attorney general Apandi Ali, appointed by former premier Najib Razak, would be put on indefinite leave as his tenure was assessed, with solicitor general Engku Nor Faizah Engku Atek standing in for him. 

“There have been complaints against the AG … on that basis we gave him a holiday,” Mahathir said at a press conference. “If the investigation reveals there is a case against him, we will take action.”
134 billion reasons for Mahathir not to rethink Chinese investment
Mahathir said he would name a new head of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on Tuesday after its chief, Dzulkifli Ahmad, resigned on Monday. 

Both men were among senior government officials installed by Najib in July 2015 as talk was swirling that public prosecutors were looking into whether the premier at the time had links to the multibillion-dollar corruption scandal at the state fund 1MDB. 
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Their predecessors were removed along with five dissenting ministers. 
Mahathir said investigations into alleged wrongdoing by the previous administration was extensive, and would take time.

Earlier in the day he met civil service chiefs from various ministries and instructed them not to destroy any documents that could be used in the investigation. 
“We have to take time. There are many faults committed by the previous government, but we cannot do everything in one day,” he told reporters. 

One man the government will not go after for now is Low Taek Jho, the Malaysian businessman who according to US prosecutors is at the centre of the 1MDB scandal.
Electoral miracle was easy part. Here’s Mahathir’s real challenge
He is currently not in Malaysia, and while Mahathir said his officials know where Low is, they would not seek his extradition for now. 

Mahathir’s updates on possible action against the deposed Barisan Nasional administration came as his own four-party Pakatan Harapan coalition openly bickered over the composition of the cabinet. 
Jailed Pakatan Harapan leader Anwar Ibrahim said in a statement he supported Mahathir’s leadership but urged the premier to consider demands from his Parti Keadilan Rakyat (National Justice Party) for more “inclusive negotiation”. 


The party is the biggest in the ruling coalition, holding 48 out of the 122 seats Pakatan Harapan garnered in last Wednesday’s vote. 
One of its leaders over the weekend said Mahathir had failed to consult the party when he offered the interior, defence, and finance portfolios to leaders of other parties. As part of the coalition’s pre-election agreement, Mahathir appointed Anwar’s wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as his deputy. 
Anwar, in jail for a sodomy conviction but considers himself a prisoner of conscience, could be released within days. 

The king said he will give the 70-year-old a full pardon, and the Prisons Pardons Board will meet at 11am on Wednesday to consider his case.
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The meeting was initially scheduled for Tuesday – eliciting instant delight among supporters eager to see his release – but was later postponed. 
On the markets front, volatility reigned on the first day of trading in Malaysia’s stock market since Pakatan Harapan’s stunning victory last week. 

Mahathir ordered Thursday and Friday to be special public holidays after the election outcome. 




The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed up 0.21 per cent after a day of see-saw trading that saw firms linked to the deposed Barisan Nasional suffer the biggest losses.
Frozen in fear, then I cried: election through Malaysian eyes
Among these biggest losers were construction conglomerate YTL Corp, banking group CIMB, where Najib’s brother Nazir is president, and Gamuda, the highway construction firm with deep links to the former administration. 

Among the top gainers was PPB Group, the agriculture conglomerate controlled by Hong Kong-based Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok. 
Kuok is one of five people appointed by Mahathir to a “Council of Eminent Persons” that will advise the new government on economic matters. 
The Malaysian ringgit, one of Asia’s top performing currencies before last Wednesday’s election, hit a four month low of 3.9850 per dollar in early trading, but stabilised later in the day. 


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This Week in Asia

Malaysian PM Mahathir begins big government clean up, but is his ruling coalition in a mess?

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir waves to delegates who follow Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah after a meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia on Monday, May 14, 2018. Photo: AP

This handout photograph taken and released on May 14, 2018 by Malaysia's Department of Information shows newly installed Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (R) attending a meeting at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya. The 92-year-old Mahathir is now the world's oldest elected leader after winning the country's general election on May 9. / AFP PHOTO / DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION / WAZARI WAZIR / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION / WAZARI WAZIR" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Protesters bring the dummy of the luxury yacht Equanimity during a protest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, April 14, 2018. Protesters gathered Saturday in Kuala Lumpur to call for the arrest of businessperson Jho Low over the alleged multibillion-dollar theft of funds from a Malaysian state investment company. (AP Photo/Sadiq Asyraf)

Dzulkifli Ahmad, Chief commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. Photo: Handout

Interview with Robert Kuok of Kerry Group at Kerry Centre, Quarry Bay. 25AUG15

epa06734782 Invenstors look at trading boards at a private stock market gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 14 May 2018. The Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM, Bank Negara Malaysia) expects the economic outlook, following the country's general election, to remain strong in the medium and long-term due to its vigorous financial system. EPA-EFE/FAZRY ISMAIL

epa06727117 (FILE) - Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (C) and his wife, Wan Azizah (2-L) arrive at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya, Malaysia, 03 November 2014 (reissued 11 May 2018). According to media reports, newly-elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said on 11 May 2018, that Malaysia's King, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V, has agreed to grant a full pardon to jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim. Ibrahim, 70, who is currently in custody on charges of sodomy and corruption, was found guilty of sodomizing his former aide in an upscale condominium in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in 2008. Mahathir added that he will step down once Anwar will be pardoned and released from custody, handing over him the prime minister's post, media added. EPA-EFE/AHMAD YUSNI *** Local Caption *** 51646667

*** ONE TIME USE ONLY *** Leonardo DiCaprio (left) with Low, the Malaysian businessman at the center of the 1MDB embezzlement scandal.

Interview: Mahathir on Malaysia’s fate, ‘crook’ PM Najib and the Trump meeting that backfired

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: AP

(170912) -- WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2017 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump (1st L) welcomes Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (2nd L) at the White House in Washington D.C., the United State, Sept. 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Guo Yina)

This photo dated 06 February 1997 shows Malaysian deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (L) removing a dustball from Prime Minister Mahathir's sleeve during a press conference. Mahathir has decided to take a two month break from this week. [21JUNE2015 FEATURE 3 POST MAGAZINE]

In this Sept. 15, 2017 photo, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is interviewed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mahathir said in an Associated Press interview the opposition alliance campaigning to topple the country's corruption-tainted leader can win the next general elections and pull Malaysia back from a slide into kleptocracy. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Breaking Barisan Nasional’s 60-year grip on Malaysia was the easy part. Here’s Mahathir’s real challenge

A new prime minister’s to-do list: nail ally-turned-foe predecessor (the one you called a thief); get chummy with foe-turned-ally successor (the one you sacked for sodomy) then talk money with the superpower you’ve been dissing 

New Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad gestures beside Wan Azizah, the wife of a jailed opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim, during a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin

This handout photograph taken and released on May 10, 2018 by the National Palace shows Mahathir Mohamad (C) taking an oath as he is sworn in as Malaysia's new prime minister at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur. Ninety-two-year-old Mahathir Mohamad was sworn in on May 10 as the world's oldest elected leader after a stunning election win that swept Malaysia's establishment from power after more than six decades. / AFP PHOTO / Malaysia National Palace / handout / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / NATIONAL PALACE / ROSKHADIJAH" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, right, salutes the troops as he arrives with his wife Rosmah Mansor at Clark International Airport in Clark, Pampanga province, north of Manila, Philippines Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017. Najib is one of more than a dozen leaders who will be attending the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Manila. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

(FILES) In this file photo taken on September 5, 2016 Malaysian jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (C) walks out from a court house in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's king has agreed to pardon jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim immediately, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on May 11, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / STR

Malaysia-projects-map

Trade between China and Malaysia. Click to enlarge

Malaysia's Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali smiles as he arrives for the Warriors' Day Celebration in Putrajaya, outside Kuala Lumpur on July 31, 2016. Malaysia celebrates Warriors' Day to commemorates the servicemen killed during the two World Wars and the Malayan Emergency. / AFP PHOTO / MOHD RASFAN

Supporters surround Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: EPA

Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, center, displays the opposition manifesto placard during a political opposition alliance event in Shah Alam, Malaysia on Thursday, March 8, 2018. Opposition coalition "Pakatan Harapan" unveiled its manifesto ahead of the 14th general election, including the promise of abolishing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and tolls in phases, as well as channeling fuel subsidies to targeted groups. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

FILE - In this July 27, 2002, file photo, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his wife Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, right, wave to supporters during his 21st year in power anniversary celebration at the National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The wife of former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad spoke at a press conference on Friday, April 20, 2018 and she is urging women to support the opposition coalition in next month's general election for a better future. (AP Photo/Teh Eng Koon, File)

Click to enlarge.

Malaysia's Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin is surrounded by reporters after delivering a speech to the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday, May 22, 2001. Daim's future has been the subject of intense speculation on financial markets and elsewhere since earlier this year, amid rumors that he had fallen out with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and would resign his post. (AP Photo/Teh Eng Koon)

TO GO WITH Malaysia-economy-politics-tax, FOCUS by M Jegathesan In this picture taken May 9, 2015, a customer poses as he shows his grocery receipt with the added six-percent goods and services tax (GST) at a department store in Kuala Lumpur. The unpopular new consumption tax has handed fresh ammo to critics of Malaysia's embattled prime minister, with angry consumers complaining it has sent prices surging, and economists warning of an impact on economic growth. AFP PHOTO / MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP PHOTO / MANAN VATSYAYANA

Hard task ahead: Mahathir Mohamad, after voting in the election that took him back to power in a shock victory over Najib Razak. Photo: Reuters

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