KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the law should take its course in the prosecution of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
“If the Attorney-General finds sufficient evidence of acts that were criminal then the A-G takes the decision," he said.
Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying this in an interview with Talk to Al Jazeera.
He explained that one of Pakatan Harapan’s election promises was that they would honour the separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judiciary.
“So I cannot interfere with what the Attorney-General wants to do," he said.
It was reported that Najib had denied corruption charges over the disappearance of millions of dollars from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) state investment fund, as part of a graft probe while he was in office.
The charges against him so far relate to funds that were allegedly transferred from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB into his personal account.
In 2015, it emerged that four billion dollars had gone missing from the 1MBD sovereign wealth fund, and nearly USD$700m (RM2.6 billion) was allegedly transferred into Najib's bank account.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing and said the money was a donation from the Saudi royal family, which he had since returned a majority of it.
In the Al Jazeera interview, Dr Mahathir said he was disappointed as the Saudis did not deny involvement in the case.
However, he also said that so far there was no proof of the country's role.
"So, we can't accuse Saudi Arabia, unless, of course, there is proof that Saudi Arabia has tried to interfere in Malaysian politics," he said.