KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (Langkawi-Pejuang) accused the government of being uninterested in recovering misappropriated funds as evidenced by the court permission granted to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to travel abroad despite his conviction in the SRC International corruption case.

"The court found the sixth prime minister guilty. That is the court’s decision. If he is not found innocent, he is guilty and should be punished.

"There are Malaysians who have not been charged yet have been taken into custody. Why then are those who have already been sentenced allowed to leave the country?

"Is the government serious about recovering its money that was misappropriated?” he asked during the Budget 2022 debate in the Dewan Rakyat today.

This is the latest in the barbs traded by Dr Mahathir and Najib, mostly on social media, in recent days.

Najib previously denied any bias after being given temporary custody of his passport to travel to Singapore ahead of the birth of his grandchild, saying the application had nothing to do with the government and went through the proper legal channels.

During his own Budget debate yesterday, the Pekan MP had slammed Dr Mahathir over the Pulau Batu Puteh issue, calling for an investigation into the withdrawal of Malaysia’s review application at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which was made during the latter’s administration.

The Pejuang chairman hit back at Najib today, by referring to him as "the warrior” — an allusion to the latter’s "Pendekar Bugis” persona that was used in the build-up to the 2018 general election — who he claimed did nothing when 1,370 hectares of land in Johor under the Iskandar Malaysia project was sold off to foreigners.

"This does not take into account the environmental damage to the biodiversity-rich wetlands, which also affected the lives and livelihoods of the area’s fishermen and residents.

"Not only did this ‘warrior’ not revolt over the sale of the property on a freehold basis to foreigners, he was the champion who inaugurated the project.

"Indeed, the rule of law no longer exists in Malaysia. There is only a loophole for thieves and rogues to avoid being punished. The government is not serious about preserving government funds,” he said.