THE past 24 hours has been hectic for newsmen who least expected the Federal Court to uphold the “guilty as charged” and “off you go to jail” verdict by both the High Court and Court of Appeal on ex-premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak – in such a short notice, so to speak.
Reminiscing of what the past 24 hours meant to Malaysians, head honcho of independent think tank Dr Rais Hussin chided ex-premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak for resorting to a sumpah laknat (an oath where the confessor calls upon God to punish him if he has told a lie) to prove his innocence.
“The fact that Najib was willing to take the oath (sumpah laknat) – of all places in the mosque – just mere days before his guilty verdict was handed down, was a testament to the extent that he and his henchmen in and outside of UMNO were willing to go to abuse the tenet of Islamic laws,” lamented the president and CEO of EMIR Research.
“In Islamic jurisprudence, there are no precedents where a person could take an oath to disclaim one’s guilt. This is why in Islamic law, all due diligence must be performed to ensure that the person is not wrongly accused of fitnah (malicious libel).”
In order to retain his family’s seat of power in Pahang – consequently as the MP of Pekan – Rais said Najib has long begun to hone his son to succeed him in the event he is stripped of all eligibilities.
“This again is an attempt to retain his grip in the establishment, no matter how tenuous it can be, to potentially use his son’s potential position in the parliamentary system to make various tactical manoeuvres that can cleanse his guilt and to stay within an earshot of getting a Royal Pardon one day,” envisaged Rais.
“The Royal institutions of Malaysia – including the army and police and the Islamic institutions that come under the chain of command of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the respective nine Sultans in Malaysia, should be forewarned of the upcoming shenanigans of UMNO, the political party that he is associated with.”
Brushing aside concerns that yesterday’s (Aug 23) decision by the Federal Court to uphold Najib’s 12-year jail sentence and RM210 mil fine for RM42 mil embezzlement of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s funds as merely a flash in the pan, non-governmental organisation Aliran (short for Aliran Kesedaran Negara) opined that the wishful thinking of a royal pardon is unlikely to materialise.
“(This is) because the Malaysian justice system has survived the long, arduous and treacherous road taken by the convicted felon,” the multi-ethnic reform movement dedicated to justice, freedom and solidarity.
“Malaysians are confident that the monarch will uphold truth and justice to protect the reputation of a nation that has still a long way to navigate out of systemic corruption.”
“Those many people celebrating the closure of the SRC International trial remain hopeful that justice will soon catch up on the 1MDB scandals well as the Altantuya murder, to name a few,” added Aliran.
Lawyer New Sin Yew expects Najib’s status as Pekan MP to remain intact for at least the next 14 days. “If there is no petition for pardon within the next 14 days, then he will be disqualified,” he opined in a Tweet.
“If Najib applies for pardon, then he will remain as an MP until and unless the pardon is denied.”
However, like how news portal The Vibes aptly puts it, “considering the gravity of Najib’s offence and the overwhelming evidence of corruption against him, it is unlikely that a sitting Agong would take the risk of granting the UMNO man a pardon, particularly as his case has attracted global attention”.
Apart from the completed SRC International Sdn Bhd proceedings, Najib still faces four other trials, namely (i) the 1Malaysia Development Bhd graft case; (ii) the tampering of an audit report of the state investment arm; (iii) criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving International Petroleum Investment Co; and (iv) three other additional charges related to SRC international.
But one thing for sure is that if Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob were to call for the 15th General Election (GE15) anytime soon, Najib will not be able to contest on grounds that he is now a convicted man (unless he obtains a royal pardon). – Aug 24, 2022
