KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 — A group calling itself Citizens of Accountable Governance Malaysia (CAGM) has offered rewards of up to RM1 million for anyone who can provide information leading to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s alleged “hidden wealth and assets”.

In its offer today, CAGM pledged to protect the identities of the whistleblowers “at all costs”.

“The reward is worth up to RM1 million per individual based on substantiality, authenticity and importance of evidence that can be utilised by law enforcement agencies to recover these hidden wealth,” said its chairman Md Zainal Abidin in a statement.

Md Zainal did not disclose the source of its funds.

Citing Wikipedia, CAGM claimed that Dr Mahathir — the country’s longest-serving prime minister — was the second richest head of government after deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, with an estimated net worth of US$44 billion (RM161 billion).

CAGM said its own research has led it to believe that Dr Mahathir had managed to stay as prime minister for 22 years because of his alleged vast fortune, which the group claimed to be mostly hidden offshore through layers of companies, nominees and proxies.

“There is a very high probability that due to this ‘staggering’ wealth, Mahathir has remained kingmaker in Malaysian politics even after his retirement,” Md Zainal added.

The group proposed that Parliament table a Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Asset) and Imposition of Tax Bill, similar to other countries, to get to the bottom of such claims.

Yesterday, CAGM had warned that it will file a RM50 billion lawsuit against Dr Mahathir if he fails to provide full disclosure on the many allegedly “outrageously questionable” ventures during his tenure as prime minister.

The day before that, CAGM had urged Putrajaya to issue a “white paper” detailing the money it has purportedly lost since the administration of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad until now.