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Bhavan Jaipragas

Malaysia’s new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in a televised address on Sunday sought to impress on investors his government’s pro-business and anti-graft agenda, a day before stock markets were to open for the first time since last week’s general election.
Mahathir’s comments came as police set up an extended cordon around the home of his scandal-haunted predecessor Najib Razak, amid reports of fresh probes into the defeated leader’s links to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB financial scandal. 

“Everyone can freely and easily conduct businesses. We welcome investments, whether it’s domestic or foreign,” Mahathir said. 
The 92-year-old premier, in his second stint as leader since his 1981-2003 tenure, said officials were studying the state of the country’s fiscal health.
Should Mahathir’s win worry Forest City’s Chinese investors?
Mahathir said his administration would take a hard line approach to dealing with graft. 
“Sometimes people may want to give gifts, like food or flowers, but not valuable items because we do not want elements of corruption in our government,” he said. “Not just those receiving [bribes], but those giving will be investigated and legal action will be taken against them.”
On his Pakatan Harapan party’s plan to abolish the six per cent goods and services tax – a policy analysts say could spur a sovereign ratings downgrade – Mahathir said the country had adequate revenue to do it. 
The new administration will meanwhile continue to welcome foreign direct investments – if they boost industries, add jobs and lead to technology transfers. 

“FDI will be limited to those bringing funds and technology into the country, constructing factories and produce goods for the local markets or for export,” Mahathir said. 
During campaigning, Mahathir criticised certain Chinese-backed infrastructure projects as overpriced and unnecessary. He said foreign help will only be tapped “if we do not have the expertise”. 
Mahathir also said a fake news law enacted in the last days of Najib’s government would be reviewed to define what is fake.
Electoral miracle was easy part. Here’s Mahathir’s real challenge
Earlier in the day, the state news agency Bernama reported that Najib’s sprawling bungalow in the leafy Jalan Duta district in the capital Kuala Lumpur had been cordoned off by police. 

Journalists gathered behind the police line cordoning off Najib Razak's private residence in the Jalan Duta area, where many political heavyweights reside. #PRU14 #GE14 pic.twitter.com/m297hGxkSs
— Bhavan Jaipragas 八万 (@jbhavan) May 13, 2018

A South China Morning Post reporter at the scene saw a mobile police station parked some 200 metres from the house, the former leader’s private residence. 
Two police officers present screened vehicles entering a road leading to the property. They did not respond to questions about whether there will be further developments.
Can Mahathir undo his own legacy and stamp out graft in Malaysia?


Police told the New Straits Times newspaper a “24 hour security monitoring order” had been issued at the area. 
“The instruction was given to avoid any untoward incident … We want to safeguard security of the residents there,” a senior police officer told the newspaper. 
Mahathir on Saturday said he had banned Najib and his wife Rosmah from leaving the country after “many complaints” against the former leader. 
“We had to act quickly as we don’t want to be saddled with the problem of extradition from another country,” he said.


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Police cordon off home of Malaysia’s ex-PM Najib Razak after travel ban

Police have cordoned off the area around former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s private residence in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Bhavan Jaipragas

In this May 10, 2018, file photo, defeated Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak walks before giving a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia's Immigration Department said Saturday, May 12, 2018 that former scandal-ridden Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife are barred from leaving the country, shortly after he announced plans for a short holiday. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File)

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, second left in front, speaks during a press conference to announce his cabinet members in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, Saturday, May 12, 2018. Mahathir said Friday he will form a lean cabinet with 10 core ministries and start the process of obtaining an immediate pardon for jailed opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak quits as leader of his coalition and party after he and his wife Rosmah Mansor ‘blacklisted’ from leaving the country

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak. Photo: EPA

FILE - In this April 3, 2009, file photo, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, left in pink, waves with his wife Rosmah Mansor at prime minister's office in Putrajaya, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysian scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib is seeking a third term in office during the May 9, 2018 general election, but faces an unprecedented challenge from a rejuvenated opposition led by his former mentor and strongman Mahathir Mohamad. (AP Photo, File)

epa06727116 (FILE) - Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (L) and his wife, Wan Azizah arrive at the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya, Malaysia, 03 November 2014 (reissued 11 May 2018). According to media reports, newly-elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said on 11 May 2018, that Malaysia's King, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V, has agreed to grant a full pardon to jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim. Ibrahim, 70, who is currently in custody on charges of sodomy and corruption, was found guilty of sodomizing his former aide in an upscale condominium in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in 2008. Mahathir added that he will step down once Anwar will be pardoned and released from custody, handing over him the prime minister's post, media added. EPA-EFE/AHMAD YUSNI *** Local Caption *** 51646668

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak of Barisan Nasional (National Front) and his wife Rosmah Mansor show their ink-stained fingers after voting in Malaysia's general election in Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia, May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Breaking Barisan Nasional’s 60-year grip on Malaysia was the easy part. Here’s Mahathir’s real challenge

A new prime minister’s to-do list: nail ally-turned-foe predecessor (the one you called a thief); get chummy with foe-turned-ally successor (the one you sacked for sodomy) then talk money with the superpower you’ve been dissing 

New Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad gestures beside Wan Azizah, the wife of a jailed opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim, during a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin

This handout photograph taken and released on May 10, 2018 by the National Palace shows Mahathir Mohamad (C) taking an oath as he is sworn in as Malaysia's new prime minister at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur. Ninety-two-year-old Mahathir Mohamad was sworn in on May 10 as the world's oldest elected leader after a stunning election win that swept Malaysia's establishment from power after more than six decades. / AFP PHOTO / Malaysia National Palace / handout / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / NATIONAL PALACE / ROSKHADIJAH" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, right, salutes the troops as he arrives with his wife Rosmah Mansor at Clark International Airport in Clark, Pampanga province, north of Manila, Philippines Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017. Najib is one of more than a dozen leaders who will be attending the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Manila. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

(FILES) In this file photo taken on September 5, 2016 Malaysian jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (C) walks out from a court house in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's king has agreed to pardon jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim immediately, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on May 11, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / STR

Malaysia-projects-map

Trade between China and Malaysia. Click to enlarge

Malaysia's Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali smiles as he arrives for the Warriors' Day Celebration in Putrajaya, outside Kuala Lumpur on July 31, 2016. Malaysia celebrates Warriors' Day to commemorates the servicemen killed during the two World Wars and the Malayan Emergency. / AFP PHOTO / MOHD RASFAN

Supporters surround Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: EPA

Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, center, displays the opposition manifesto placard during a political opposition alliance event in Shah Alam, Malaysia on Thursday, March 8, 2018. Opposition coalition "Pakatan Harapan" unveiled its manifesto ahead of the 14th general election, including the promise of abolishing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and tolls in phases, as well as channeling fuel subsidies to targeted groups. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

FILE - In this July 27, 2002, file photo, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his wife Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, right, wave to supporters during his 21st year in power anniversary celebration at the National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The wife of former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad spoke at a press conference on Friday, April 20, 2018 and she is urging women to support the opposition coalition in next month's general election for a better future. (AP Photo/Teh Eng Koon, File)

Click to enlarge.

Malaysia's Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin is surrounded by reporters after delivering a speech to the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday, May 22, 2001. Daim's future has been the subject of intense speculation on financial markets and elsewhere since earlier this year, amid rumors that he had fallen out with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and would resign his post. (AP Photo/Teh Eng Koon)

TO GO WITH Malaysia-economy-politics-tax, FOCUS by M Jegathesan In this picture taken May 9, 2015, a customer poses as he shows his grocery receipt with the added six-percent goods and services tax (GST) at a department store in Kuala Lumpur. The unpopular new consumption tax has handed fresh ammo to critics of Malaysia's embattled prime minister, with angry consumers complaining it has sent prices surging, and economists warning of an impact on economic growth. AFP PHOTO / MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP PHOTO / MANAN VATSYAYANA

Hard task ahead: Mahathir Mohamad, after voting in the election that took him back to power in a shock victory over Najib Razak. Photo: Reuters

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New PM Mahathir Mohamad ordered travel restrictions on Najib after the former premier said he would take a short break to consider his future


Police on Sunday cordoned off the area around former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s private residence in Kuala Lumpur.


Malaysia 1MDB scandal

Malaysia