KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government adheres to the principle of the rule of law and, as such, accepted the decision of the court to postpone the trial of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
The Prime Minister said that by right, those accused of having been involved in the alleged misappropriation of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds amounting to RM42 million should have been tried by now.
“But, as a government that adheres to the rule of law, we abide by the postponement decided by the court.
“We respect the courts although people have been asking why those who are clearly involved in corruption are not on trial yet. This is what the people are asking,” he said when replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian) during the Ministers’ Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat.
Ahmad had asked why the government failed to fulfil its election manifesto promises, to which Dr Mahathir replied that the actions of the previous government and the legal restraints did not make it easy for the government to do so.
On Feb 11, the Court of Appeal, sitting in Putrajaya, allowed an application by Najib to postpone the SRC International trial that was to have started the following day.
Meanwhile, when replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Man (PAS-Kubang Kerian), Dr Mahathir said the government would continue to trace and bring back all the money allegedly misappropriated by the previous government.
“We are also looking at the 1MDB administration and management because that’s where much money was lost. Although there have been reports in certain places, the fact is that the money is missing and cannot be traced,” he said. – Bernama
