1MDB funds disappeared, Mahathir says, demands PM resign

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIAN former strongman Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday launched the fiercest yet in a series of attacks on the country's prime minister, demanding that he account for the disappearance of billions of dollars borrowed by state fund 1MDB, or resign. "It is this disappearance of a huge amount of borrowed money by 1MDB and the inability to answer questions regarding what happened to the funds that disqualifies Najib from being prime minister of Malaysia," the 89-year-old wrote in his blog.

Najib Razak chairs the advisory board of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a power plant and property fund whose RM42 billion (S$16 billion) debt has weighed on Malaysia's sovereign rating and the ringgit in recent months.