Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was questioned by anti-corruption authorities on Tuesday after his shock election loss, as the top graft investigator revealed that he faced threats and a bullet in the post when the old regime suppressed a probe into a massive corruption scandal.
Mr. Razak’s coalition suffered a defeat at the May 9 poll, beaten by a reformist alliance led by Mahathir Mohamad, who campaigned on claims that the former leader and his cronies looted sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. Billions of dollars were allegedly stolen from the fund in a sophisticated fraud.
Mr. Razak arrived at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in the administrative capital of Putrajaya to be quizzed about 1MDB money allegedly ending up in his personal bank accounts.
Probe to continue
He left after about five hours looking exhausted, and told waiting reporters that officials had “acted professionally” as they took his statement and that the process would continue on Wednesday. New MACC chief Shukri Abdull, a long-time senior figure in the agency who retired but has been brought back by Mr. Mohamed, shed tears at a press conference as he told how he came under “tremendous pressure” during an earlier probe into a 1MDB subsidiary.
He recounted how witnesses were intimidated, authorities tried to push him into early retirement, and that he even received a bullet in the post. “I received a bullet at my home,” he said. “I did not even tell my wife and my family, I did not lodge a police report.”
