IT was most timely for Bukit Aman to open sedition probe against UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over his fiery speech where tons of insults were traded with the sole intention of garnering sympathy for ex-premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak who made the Kajang Prison his ‘home’ on Aug 23.
Yesterday (Aug 30), Royal Malaysia Police corporate communications chief Skandaguru Anandan said investigations will be handled by the Classified Crimes Investigation Unit (D5) which is a unit under Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigations Department.
“Investigations into the 12 reports will be under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998,” he pointed out in a media statement.
At the special briefing with a red dress code which he himself mooted last Saturday (Aug 27) at the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre before some 3,000 delegates, Zahid has insulted the judiciary, Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, according to Parti Amanah Negara’s mobilisation bureau director Mohd Sany Hamzan.
This has prompted the party to file a police report at the Dang Wangi district police station to initiate investigations against Zahid for intentionally insulting the country’s top institutions.
Sany also claimed that copies of Zahid’s written speech as well as videos of the latter making the alleged insults had gone viral on social media.
Bersatu Youth information chief Mohd Ashraf Mustaqim Badrul Munir who had also lodged a police report against Zahid at Dang Wangi described as “dangerous” Zahid’s statements that claimed that questioning the judicial system’s ability to hold a fair trial had not only mocked and slandered an important institution but could incite people not to trust the institution.
While Najib had his conviction of 12-year jail sentence and RM210 mil fine upheld by the Federal Court in the RM42 mil fund embezzlement case related to SRC International Sdn Bhd, Zahid himself does not come clean either and tried to deflect the very existence of the “court cluster” within UMNO’s top leadership.
The Bagan Datuk MP who was also a former home minister faces 47 criminal charges including 12 counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) in relation to RM31 mil charitable foundation Yayasan Akalbudi’s funds, 27 counts of money-laundering, and eight counts of bribery charges over RM21.25 mil of alleged bribes.
With Najib still facing a slew of other 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-related charges with high probability of being unable to walk out scot-free from his four more pending court cases, Zahid was most likely going for broke by rallying for UMNO’s grassroot support by leveraging Najib’s misfortune to his benefit.
So will the teary show-up by Najib’s filial daughter Nooryana Najwa Najib, wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, eldest son Datuk Nizar Najib – and even general counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah – at last weekend’s UMNO’s president special briefing work in Zahid’s favour? – Aug 31, 2022
Main pic credit: Malay Mail
