Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir and Mirzan Mahathir (right).
KUALA LUMPUR: Two sons of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad have gone on record to say that they are not the subject of a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation.
Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir and Mirzan Mahathir said in a joint statement on Saturday (April 27) that the notice handed out to each of them states that they are 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.
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Both brothers added that they are appreciative of the extension given to them by the MACC on the declaration notice which was first served 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," they said.
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.
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"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," said the brothers.
They added that most of the documents are no longer available, especially from financial institutions and even from the public sector.
The brothers in their statement cited that even the Inland Revenue Board only requires taxpayers to keep sufficient records for a period of seven years, as well as the Registrar of Companies.
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"Having said that, we have been working hard and putting in as much effort as possible to collect these documents but some are near impossible to retrieve as they are just no longer in existence," the statement read.
On April 16, Dr Mahathir had claimed that graft busters were saying that he had committed an offence under Section 23 of the MACC Act, according to a notice sent to his son, Mirzan.
The notice by MACC was given to his son, Mirzan, he added.
MACC has given businessmen Mirzan and Mokhzani a 30-day extension from Friday (April 26) to declare their assets to the anti-graft body.
