KUALA LUMPUR: The government will go after the ‘big boys’ under the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government for corruption with concrete evidence that will stand in court.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad speaking at a press conference, said there are many people involved, but they have to concentrate on a few first as they are short handed, when asked if more people under the previous government will be charged soon.
He added the government could not deal with so many corrupt people at one time.
"At the moment, we will go after the 'big boys' and gather enough evidence so that it can stand up in court and action can be taken against them," he said.
Dr Mahathir was speaking to reporters after presenting a keynote speech at the 2018 Anti Corruption Summit themed "Good Governance and Integrity for Sustainable Business Growth" organised by Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) and Aram Global Sdn Bhd.
Also present were TI-M president Dato Akhbar Satar and adviser of Aram Global Mohd Shah Hashim.
Seen at the summit was former PetroSaudi International Ltd employee turned whistleblower Xavier Andre Justo who is a panelist on the topic of the battle against ill-gotten money.
Justo, a Swiss national, was previously accused of sharing information on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) with Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir also highlighted that in the six months after Pakatan Harapan became the government, "there is no widespread of corruption cases reported in the media, unlike when the previous government was in power."
"Under the previous government, almost everyday we see news reports of corruption including in blogs. Now, we don't see anybody accusing the present government of corruption," he added.
When told that former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had claimed that the government is seeking revenge against him and that the money he received was a donation from Saudi Arabia, Dr Mahathir
said his predecessor can say what he wants.
"What else can he say... If you believe him you are welcomed to believe.. there must be enough evidence for him to be charged," Dr Mahathir said, pointing out that Saudi Arabia has come forward to say they did not give the money.
He stressed that currently, the government is in the process of reshaping and carrying out reforms, including the country's financial positioning and reducing borrowings.
On a separate matter, Dr Mahathir said he could not name the company who had tried to donate RM100 million to Tabung Harapan Malaysia.
""We felt that, it was a problem as the company tried to influence the government... so we rejected the donation."
Apart from that, Dr Mahathir also said many foreign investors are beginning to return and invest in Malaysia.
"Previously, many investors refuse to invest. Now, we don't have anyone asking for a 30% share or bribe for approvals."
Earlier in his keynote address, Dr Mahathir said it is important for the people to know and realise that corruption is a crime.
"If the Prime Minister is involved in corruption, the rest will follow suit. There will be no attempts to combat corruption," he said, adding this would also affect government machinery and was something that had to be addressed.
"I would like to tell you that, we are no longer known as a kleptocracy or government of thieves," Dr Mahathir said, in ensuring that the new government would fight against corruption.
While admitting that it is not possible to completely eradicate corruption, the prime minister vouched to control or reduce it to a minimum.
He reiterated that corruption can only be successfully curbed if top government leaders - from the Prime Minister to Ministers and elected representatives - are truly free from corrupt practices.