Malaysia's beleaguered Prime Minister Najib Razak was today dragged to court by his predecessor Mahatir Mohamad, who filed a lawsuit demanding handing over of nearly USD 680 million to government that ended up in the premier's personal accounts.
62-year-old Najib has come under intense criticism from Mahathir and the country's opposition party over allegations of corruption linked to the debt-laden state-fund 1MalaysiaDevelopment Berhad (1MDB) and deposits into the prime minister's personal bank account of nearly USD 680 million.
Najib had denied the allegations and said the money was not for his personal use.
The lawsuit, which alongside Mahathir, also has former leader of ruling party United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Khairuddin Abu Hassan and former women's wing member Anina Saadudin as plaintiffs.
The lawsuit asked Najib to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars that ended up in the personal bank accounts of Najib.
The three plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that Najib used his position as prime minister, Barisan Nasional Chairman and UMNO president to interfere official inquiries into 1MDB financial impropriety allegations.
The 1MDB allegations touched on the remittance of RM2.6 billion (USD 65 crore) and RM42 million (USD 10 million) into Najib's private bank accounts, among others.
Mahathir, Khairuddin and Anina are also seeking another declaration that Najib had misused his various official positions to unjustly punish the three plaintiffs for demanding answers to the various allegations.
Meanwhile, Najib's supporter Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak labeled the legal action by Mahathir as an exercise in desperation.
In a statement today, Salleh said the former prime minister's action demonstrated just how desperate he was, and that he was clutching at straws.
The plaintiffs seek exemplary and aggravated damages of RM2.6 billion and RM42 million respectively, among other reliefs sought.
Asked on how amount of damages that the trio were seeking were apparently similar to the two cases linked to Najib, deputy home minister Jazlan Mohammad said it was merely a "publicity stunt."
"It was a publicity stunt to invoke anger (among the people)," he told reporters.
Mahathir joined several opposition leaders this month to sign a "Citizen's Declaration", calling for Najib's resignation.
Swiss authorities had recently said that up to USD 4 billion may have been stolen from Malaysian state firms including 1MDB and an investigation on possible fraud and money-laundering is on.
US, British, Singaporean and Hong Kong authorities also are looking into 1MDB-related fund flows.
