(13 Aug 2018) Malaysia's prime minister said Monday he will ensure a fair trial for former leader Najib Razak, who faces trial on multiple charges related to the alleged multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state investment fund.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who shot back to power in an electoral upset in May, promised "no vengeance" and said Najib will get "a fair trial" but added: "Najib is the main culprit. The world knows that Najib stole money."
Mahathir said fixing Malaysia's finances remains the key priority of the government, which will mark its 100 days in office this week.
"There may be a need for us to sell government assets for us to raise money to pay debts. That is the extent of Najib's wrongdoing," he said.
Mahathir said the price of raw water sold to Singapore should be increased by more than 10 fold.
Under a decades-old water deal that expires in 2061, Malaysia sells raw water to Singapore at 3 sen ($0.0073) per thousand gallons and buys treated water at 50 sen ($0.12) per thousand gallons.
"Today 3 sen can buy nothing. I think every treaty needs to be revised because the cost of living changes," he said. "It won't make a dent in their finances just to give us a little bit of the money they are making from us."
Southern Johor state sells raw water to another state at 30 sen ($0.073) per thousand gallons and that's a "charitable" price, he said. "For a foreign country, we need to get more than that," Mahathir added, but declined to say what price Malaysia is seeking.
Mahathir also said Malaysia wants to maintain a neutral stance and not be dragged into the Middle East conflict.
His government has shut a Saudi-backed anti-terrorism centre launched last year and plans to withdraw Malaysian troops from the kingdom.
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