This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 16, 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR: Police are investigating former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for criminal defamation over a recent blog posting on Attorney-General (AG) Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said police reports have been lodged “one or two days ago” over the posting. “We have started investigation for defamation under Section 500 of the Penal Code.” 

Section 500 of the Penal Code touches on defamation and carries a two-year jail term, a fine, or both upon conviction. 

In a posting on his blog on Feb 5, Dr Mahathir attacked Mohamed Apandi over his decision not to charge the prime minister, saying the country’s top prosecutor had no credibility. He also said, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should resign for Malaysia to regain its reputation. 

“To clear Malaysia’s good name and his own, Najib must prove beyond a shadow of doubt that he is innocent of all the accusations against him. The AG saying he is innocent means nothing.” — The Malaysian Insider