MACC currently probing dad – not us, say Dr M’s sons

Under fire: Mokhzani (left) and Mirzan.

KUALA LUMPUR: Two sons of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad have clarified that they are not the subject of a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation.

Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir and Mirzan Mahathir said the MACC notice handed out to each of them was issued as a “son” of a person suspected to have committed an offence under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009.

“We understand the whole exercise is to determine if our father Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad abused his position as prime minister to enrich us.

“We are keen to disprove these accusations and want to prove that whatever we have earned over the years are through legitimate means, through proper channels and without any crime being committed,” they said in a joint statement issued yesterday.

“We are appreciative of the extension given to us by the MACC on the declaration notice which was first served to us in January under Section 36(1)(b) of the MACC Act 2009.

“We would like to put it on record that, contrary to media reports, we are not the subject of any MACC investigation,” the statement read.

The brothers said that they are required to declare their assets over a period of 43 years.

“Due to the scarcity of information with every passing year, it would greatly assist us if MACC could specify the period that holds the highest significance for their investigations.

“There are insinuations that the reason why we need more time is due to the extent of our wealth.

“This is not true at all.

“Most of the documents are no longer available especially from the financial institutions and even from the public sectors,” they said.

Mokhzani and Mirzan said that even the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) only requires taxpayers to keep sufficient records for a period of seven years. This requirement is also the same of the Registrar of Companies, they added.

The brothers said they are working hard to collect these documents as much as possible.

“But some are near impossible to retrieve as they are just no longer in existence,” the statement read.

On April 16, Dr Mahathir claimed that graft busters were saying that he had committed an offence under Section 23 of the MACC Act, according to a MACC notice sent to his son, Mirzan.

MACC has given Mirzan and Mokhzani, both businessmen, a 30-day extension from Friday to declare their assets to the anti-graft body.