1MDB fallout: Malaysian police open defamation probe against ex-PM Mahathir for blog post about attorney general

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Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has upped his attacks against embattled premier Najib Razak and those apparently close to him. Photo: Reuters

Published: 4:29pm, 15 Feb 2016Updated: 4:29pm, 15 Feb 2016

Former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad is under investigation for defaming the attorney general in blog posts criticising his failure to bring corruption charges against Prime Minister Najib Razak, police said on Monday.

The feud between Malaysia’s past and current leaders has gripped the Southeast Asian nation for almost a year, with Mahathir repeatedly calling on Najib, his former protege, to step down over a financial scandal at indebted state-fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

In a February 5 posting on his personal blog, Mahathir wrote attorney general Mohamad Apandi Ali had “no credibility”, after he cleared Najib of any criminal offences or corruption arising from a graft probe into a $681 million deposit in Najib’s personal bank account.

Najib replaced the previous attorney general and appointed Apandi just weeks after a Wall Street Journal report on 1MDB revealed the deposits of vast sums in Najib’s account.

Apandi closed investigations into Najib earlier this month after concluding that the money was gifted by a member of the Saudi royal family, and most of it had been returned.

Malaysia's attorney general Mohamad Apandi Ali has been accused of protecting scandal-plagued PM Najib Razak, who was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing over the hundreds of millions of dollars in political donations discovered in his bank accounts. Photo: EPA

Inspector general of police Khalid Abu Bakar said several police reports had been lodged against Mahathir over his attack on Apandi.