Mahathir calls for independent tribunal on 1MDB

PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called for the establishment of a tribunal, consisting of independent judges, to hear the case of controversial sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
In a blog post today, Dr Mahathir said the Attorney General may defend the government or the officers but the tribunal should make the final judgment.
He also questioned why the Auditor General's (AG) report has been classified as a secret under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), when it should be made public for all to read.
He pointed out that keeping the report under wraps only serves to fuel suspicions of misdeeds and a "cover-up", adding that these doubts will remain until all the documentations, records and personalities are identified, questioned and verified.
"It is time that the government comes clean and allow the courts to hear charges against the people who mismanaged 1MDB. Zeroing in on one CEO is not enough. Besides he is not being investigated as promised by the IGP. The IGP must explain this inaction," he stressed.
Criticising the use of OSA, he emphasized that the act should not be used to hide "criminal acts".
"It is for protecting legitimate administrative matters, such as drafts for new agreements or contracts or Cabinet papers. Hiding criminal acts behind the OSA is wrong, is illegal, is criminal," he said.
Recently, Sarawak Report had published documents from what it claimed was the AG's report on 1MDB.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the news site will be probed under the OSA if the leaked documents turned out to be genuine.