DATUK Seri Najib Razak’s loyalists and supporters are beaming with joy, hopeful that the incarcerated former premier would have his time spent behind bars in the Kajang prison cut short should charges against him related to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MBD) scandal are reviewed following a purportedly genuine leaked memo from the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).
In addition to that, hope are abounds for the former Pekan MP to be able to walk out a free man from his 12-year jail sentence which was upheld by the Federal Court on Aug 23 last year without having to go through the hassle of seeking royal pardon which technically is considered after a prisoner has served half of his/her jail sentence period.
Politically, UMNO is currently all-out rallying for the release of the country’s sixth premier with its president and Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi insisting that Najib must “be accorded the justice he deserves”.
“I believe that the AGC should review the charges against Najib. If the memo is genuine, I am confident the AGC will take immediate action by dropping the charges,” Zahid who is also the Rural and Regional Development Minister pointed out.
“Justice must be prioritised by the AGC and we are confident of the AGC’s credibility and capability to review and do something positive so that Najib will truly be given justice.”
The alleged 12-page internal memo from the AGC was reportedly addressed to former Attorney-General (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas and dated Sept 10, 2019.
In it, the team prosecuting Najib for payments made to Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) had apparently expressed concerns that a strong prima facie case could not be built for the six charges against him and former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah.
Najib who was PM when the alleged payments were made was charged in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Oct 25, 2018. He and Irwan were jointly charged with six counts of criminal breach of trust under Section 409 of the Penal Code with regard to payments of RM6.6 bil in government funds to IPIC.
However, it may be too early to establish at this juncture if the leaked memo has any bearing on Najib’s current 12-year imprisonment and RM210 mil fine after he was found guilty of all seven charges related to the misappropriation of RM42 mil in funds belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd which was a 1MDB subsidiary.
As his fans rejoiced over the possibility of his early release, netizen Masni Mokhtar questioned Zahid’s sincerity in speaking up for Najib who goes by the moniker “Bossku” to his loyal supporters.
“(You) only spoke for Bossku when the two by-elections are around the corner,” teased the Masni while fellow netizen Anuar Bin AB Razak also wondered “why Zahid only spoke up (for Bossku) now when he has been jailed for more than one year”.
Probably the timing factor raised by both netizens is prompted by the fact that the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) alliance which helmed the unity government has a ‘must-win’ task in the Pulai parliamentary and Simpang Jeram state by-elections in Johor on Sept 9.
Even though UMNO/BN is not contesting in both by-elections, there is a need for UMNO to rally its grassroots to support the PH candidates contesting in both elections so as to prevent the Perikatan Nasional (PN) green wave effect from making inroad into Johor which was once deemed a BN fortress/fixed deposit.
This comes about as many Malay votes have swung PN’s way in Aug 12’s six state elections with Selangor failing to defend its two-third majority (34-22) while the Malay hinterland in mainland Penang was almost all conquered by PAS-Bersatu (29-11). – Aug 29, 2023
