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Bloomberg
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad moved swiftly against predecessor Najib Razak just days after his shock election win, banning him from leaving the country and planning to reopen a probe into a multi-billion dollar scandal at a state fund that Najib helped set up.
Even as a chastened Najib said he would support a smooth transition of power and relinquished his dual roles as chief of his party and the broader Barisan Nasional coalition, Mahathir made clear he wouldn’t be lenient after a bitter and intensely personal election campaign.
Mahathir, who was prime minister from 1981 to 2003 and defected to the opposition to stand as their candidate for premier, repeatedly called Najib, his former protege, a “thief†before the vote and pledged to revisit the 1MDB funding issue. His victory at the age of 92 swept away 61 years of rule by Barisan Nasional, which had maintained a grip on power since Malaysia’s independence with the support of ethnic Malay voters.
Mahathir confirmed he had personally ordered travel restrictions on Najib after the former premier said he would take a short break to consider his future. Crowds gathered at a local airport after media reports that Najib and his wife were listed on a manifesto for a private plane to fly to Indonesia.
“We have placed certain restrictions on a number of people who may be involved in wrongdoing or in making wrong decisions,†Mahathir told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.