As his son faces a graft probe, a Malaysian ex-PM says the government wants to prosecute its rivals

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad attacked a graft probe into his associates as politically motivated, a week after his eldest son was ordered to hand over information to investigators.

Mahathir, a two-time prime minister who’s been a fixture in Malaysian politics for decades, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government is using corruption charges to go after political rivals.

Mahathir came out of retirement in the wake of the massive 1MDB corruption scandal, joining hands with the opposition in 2018 for a short second term as premier after ousting a long-ruling coalition he once led.

Businessman Mirzan Mahathir and tycoon Daim Zainuddin were revealed to hold millions offshore in the Pandora Papers, a 2021 document leak that revealed offshore accounts held by some of the world’s wealthiest people and politicians.

The anti-graft agency ordered Mirzan to declare all his assets within 30 days on Jan. 17. It had earlier opened a probe into Daim, a former Finance Minister and ally of Mahathir. Mirzan has also been accused of shady dealings in relation to the sale and acquisition of a government-linked company.

Mahathir, 98, said he believed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was fishing for evidence to implicate him, and accused Anwar of selective prosecution.

Prosecutors dropped 47 graft charges against Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi last year while the trial was at an advanced stage.

Mahathir also said no action was taken against anti-graft agency chief Azam Baki over a share trading scandal in 2022.

“This is Malaysian justice under Anwar’s regime,” Mahathir told a news conference.

“The law is being abused for political ends. I’m saying very clearly that the people who are against the