Malaysian PM Mahathir begins big government clean up, but is his ruling coalition in a mess?
In day one of his new job, PM purges officials seen as too close to predecessor Najib, while division remains among members of his political alliance
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.”
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.
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.
