Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad speaks during an event to announce a citizens’ movement against the government in Kuala Lumpur on March 4, 2016. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng

KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called for foreign interference into Malaysia’s affairs in a bid to push Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak from office.

The former prime minister told Australian paper The Weekend Australian that there was little hope his successor would resign without outside pressure.

“Normally I don’t like foreign interference in Malaysian affairs, but our avenues for redress have been closed completely (both within the party and through draconian laws now used to intimid­ate critics),” Dr Mahathir was quoted saying in the interview.

“So now we have to allow foreign­ interference in our domestic­ affairs. If it is legal, legitimate, yes. If they have informatio­n, they should give informa­tion. And if there is money laundering, just because it is Najib it doesn’t mean they should suspend that law,” he added.

The elder statesman is leading a bipartisan movement called “Save Malaysia” that has been collecting signatures in its campaign pushing for Najib’s resignation.

Dr Mahathir also reportedly expressed surprise that Australian authorities had not launched an investigation on state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), given that ANZ Bank owned an almost 25 per cent stake of AmBank, the Malaysian bank where more than US$ 1 billion was reportedly transferred to Najib’s personal accounts there.

“The Australian government doesn’t seem to want to annoy the Malaysian Prime Minister,” the former prime minister was quoted saying.

ANZ deputy chief executive Graham Hodges reportedly told an Australian senate hearing this week that it was “simplistic” to say that the bank had questions to answer over the 1MDB controversy, stressing that ANZ does not control AmBank.

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin told national newswire Bernama recently, after the PAC tabled its report on 1MDB in Parliament Thursday, that the panel did not find any evidence of wrongdoing or abuse of power by Najib.