KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the government should initiate criminal proceedings against former Attorney-General (AG) Tan Sri Apandi Ali for his involvement in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) financial scandal.
The former Langkawi member of parliament said it was unfair that only Datuk Seri Najib Razak had been incarcerated for the global-scale financial scandal.
He said this in response to the Federal Court's dismissal of Apandi's leave application to reinstate his RM10 million defamation suit against DAP adviser Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang on Tuesday.
Apandi filed the lawsuit over an article that questioned the former A-G's role in aiding and abetting in the 1MDB financial scandal.
Dr Mahathir said the government's decision in 2018, during which he was the then prime minister, to terminate Apandi's service as A-G was correct.
"Apandi filed the suit against Lim, alleging defamation for portraying 'that he was immoral, unethical, and lacking integrity while holding the position of A-G.
"Beginning in the High Court, followed by the Court of Appeal, and now the Federal Court, all seven judges agreed that Apandi's main failure was in carrying out his responsibilities as A-G.
"The Court of Appeal also stated that when Apandi abruptly decided to halt the 1MDB probe, it reinforced the public perception that Apandi was covering up the scandal.
"The judge also said that Apandi, who was entrusted with the power to direct investigations to resolve cases and prosecute those responsible without fear or favour, had acted contrary to this and attempted to obstruct the investigation into the 1MDB scandal," he said in his recent blog post yesterday.
Dr Mahathir said the judge also pointed out that Apandi failed to provide any evidence to support his claim that he did not "assist and abet" Najib in the scandal.
He said this had proven that his action to terminate Apandi as A-G when he was the prime minister in 2018 was correct.
Apandi subsequently filed a RM2.2 million lawsuit against the government and named Dr Mahathir as the defendant, claiming unlawful termination.
However, Apandi had reached a settlement with the government after the latter had agreed to settle the suit without admission of liability.
"That is why I disagree with the government's decision in 2022 to settle Apandi's dismissal lawsuit, as I was informed it involved a substantial compensation payout.
"Based on the judgments of those courts, I feel that the termination of Apandi's service was the right decision.
"In fact, the government following my leadership should have reported Apandi to the police regarding the crimes he committed related to the 1MDB scandal.
"It is unfair if only Najib is punished while Apandi whom the judges have openly stated as 'assisting and abetting', is freed and compensated by the government," he added.
Apandi's suit centres on an article by Lim published in the news portal Malaysiakini, titled "Dangerous fallacy to think Malaysia's on the road to integrity" on May 6, three years ago.
The suit claimed Lim had deliberately or indirectly implied that Apandi was involved in criminal activities, and was someone who was unethical, immoral, incompetent and lacked responsibility, knowledge, expertise and other professional ethics to hold the post of A-G at the material time.
