Not a single sen deposited in my account, says Dr M

KUALA LUMPUR: Former premier, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said allegations that he had taken money for use during the general elections were all slanderous.
During his time as the Prime Minister and Umno president, Dr Mahathir said the Umno headquarters had three trustees.
"I was one of them and we all had a bank account. We all made donations, especially during the elections where money was deposited into the account.
"Two of the three trustees had the power to manage the account and issue cheques," he said in his latest blog posting.
He said the trustees were also named as the shareholders and property owners for Umno.
"When I resigned as the Umno president, I directed that all the money, shares and relevant documentation be surrendered to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
"The money surrendered was more than RM200 million while the shares and property was worth RM1.2 billion," he said.
He said not a single cent was deposited into his personal account.
He said he prepared all his personal accounts for the last 22 years and these were inspected by a third party with no interest to verify.
In the 1964 and 1969 elections, he said RM20,000 cash from the Umno headquarters was given to him to be distributed, 40% for the parliament seat and 30% for state seats.
"Since I was unable to carry around RM20,000 cash, I put the money into my account and issued cheques. The money was not from donors but was Umno's money which was given to the divisions for use by the candidate.
"When I was asked to leave the party in 1970, the Inland Revenue Department ransacked my house and clinic.
"They found cheque stubs which were used by me and claimed that I had not fully reported my income," he said.
Dr Mahathir said he was fined RM300,000 with a warning that he would be fined three times more if he went to court.
"I did not go to court. Instead I appealed that the money deposited into my account was from Umno. However, the Umno headquarters did not admit the money was from Umno," he said.
Finally, he said he was fined RM130,000. At the time I was fined, I was already appointed as a Minister.
"I paid the fine in stages and only finished paying when I was made Deputy Prime Minister," he said.
He said there were slight differences between the RM20,000 cash which he accepted and a cheque for US$700 million, which was allegedly deposited into Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak's account.
"If you check the expenses for the five general elections during my tenure as party president, not much was used and Barisan Nasional always won with a 2/3 majority.
"If Umno now needs RM2.5 billion for an election, it clearly contravenes electoral rules and regulations," he said.
He said the electoral expenses of each electoral candidate must be reported to the authorities. It is wrong if it exceeds the set amount.
"I am sorry if that law has been abolished. It was created to avoid corruption," he said.
He said he did not wish to question where the US$700 million came from.
"I will wait for the Auditor-General and PAC to release their report though I am no longer able to completely accept all statements which are to be released.