Putrajaya, Malaysia – Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has dismissed allegations of corruption, stating his wealth was acquired through his political career salaries and most of it is now spent.

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Mahathir, who is being scrutinized by the country’s corruption watchdog, rebutted remarks by current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim that suggested he had used his position to amass wealth for himself and his family.

“I am curious as I have not seen this money and don’t know where it is. If I had taken the money, tell the court how you [Anwar] conclude that I had taken it,” said the 98-year-old Mahathir, who is pursuing a 150 million ringgit ($32m) defamation lawsuit against his former ally.

Mahathir, who led Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and once again from 2018 to 2020, expressed his willingness to travel to Switzerland with Anwar to search for any hidden bank accounts holding his alleged wealth.

“If we find such a bank, I will withdraw every penny and give it to the Malays,” Mahathir promised.

Mahathir also accused Anwar of directing attacks at his two eldest sons, Mirzan Mahathir and Mokhzani Mahathir.

Anwar, who served as Mahathir’s deputy in the 1990s, has denied targeting political adversaries and insists he does not tamper with the judicial process.

“As he [Anwar] stated, he had files, boxes, and documents showing I have taken money. Well, show them if you have them. But until now, he has shown nothing," Mahathir contested. "Instead, he is targeting my children, Mokhzani and Mirzan.”

In January, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) compelled Mirzan Mahathir and Mokhzani Mahathir to reveal their assets as part of an investigation spurred by the Pandora and Panama Papers leaks.

The anticorruption agency confirmed in April that it was examining Mahathir's actions as part of the probe.

Mahathir emphasized that he does not profit from his sons' business dealings.

“They don’t give me money from their business,” he stated.

Mahathir asserted that he banned his sons from conducting business in Malaysia while he was in office to avoid accusations of nepotism.

“Mokhzani only succeeded in business after I resigned. During my tenure as prime minister, he was not well-known for business success. He was employed by petroleum companies due to his training in that field,” Mahathir explained.

Describing his source of income, Mahathir said he earned a monthly salary of 8,000 ringgit ($1,700) when he first became prime minister, which increased to 20,000 ringgit ($4,240) by the time he stepped down in 2020.

“For me, that was a significant amount… a very large sum of money,” said Mahathir, noting that he was paid 2,000 ringgit ($420) a month when he began as a private practice doctor in the 1950s.

Mahathir noted that he received perks such as a house and a car, which reduced his personal expenses during his tenure.

“They paid for my electricity, water bill… the government provided me with transportation, cars, and drivers. I didn’t have to pay for anything,” Mahathir elaborated.

“Even flying, the planes were at my disposal. So, the government provided what I needed to do my work as prime minister, and I was able to save my salary over 29 years – from being a minister of education to retiring as prime minister.”

In 2018, Mahathir declared assets amounting to 32.35 million ringgit ($6.9m).

Mahathir mentioned that when he first stepped down as prime minister in 2003, he refused a free land offer from the government in Putrajaya, about 25km (15.5 miles) south of Kuala Lumpur.

“I said no, I don’t accept free land. So I bought the land. I paid 1 million ringgit [$212,000] for 5 acres [2 hectares] of land. It is on record that I didn’t take a single cent from the government,” he asserted.

Mahathir explained that he spent a significant amount of his money coming out of retirement to unseat then-Prime Minister Najib Razak as the multibillion dollar 1MDB scandal emerged.

Mahathir led the Malaysian United Indigenous Party, which he founded after leaving UMNO, the largest party in the then-governing Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, to contest the 2018 elections.

At 92, Mahathir led the opposition Pakatan Harapan coalition to a shocking victory over BN, which had ruled Malaysia uninterrupted since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1957.

Mahathir resigned in 2020 due to internal conflicts within his PH government.

In 2022, Anwar was elected prime minister following two brief premierships under Perikatan Nasional (PN).

“Unfortunately, when I was out of the government and involved in politics, my only source of money was my own… I spent most of it on politics,” he said.

“My party didn’t have money. People don’t donate to the opposition party.”

Discussing Najib, who seeks to serve the remainder of a six-year prison sentence under house arrest for his involvement in the 1MDB scandal, Mahathir said the former prime minister should not receive preferential treatment.

“Staying at home means you are free. You don’t leave your house, but you are free. When you steal billions and are treated well, it sets a bad example for future leaders,” Mahathir remarked.

In February, Malaysia’s pardons board halved Najib’s jail sentence to six years and reduced his 210 million ringgit ($60m) fine to 50 million ringgit ($10.7m).

“They will reduce the sentence until it becomes insignificant,” Mahathir said.

“When you grant such concessions, pardons, and halve sentences, and then talk about house arrest, you aren’t punishing. You are treating someone who has stolen billions of dollars differently.”