PRETTY much unlike her husband Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the talk of the town surrounding self-proclaimed “man of the house” Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor is not her 10-year jail sentence but the RM970 mil fine meted out by the Kuala Lumpur High Court that found her guilty on all three corruption charges related to the RM1.25 bil project to supply solar hybrid energy to 369 rural schools in Sarawak.
Indeed a powerful figure behind Najib, Rosmah, 70, is widely scorned for her extravagant lifestyle and penchant for Birkin bags that can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece.
Recall that the police found 12,000 individual items of jewellery, 567 luxury handbags, 423 watches and US$26 mil in cash at properties linked to the couple in the aftermath of Najib’s unexpected defeat during the 14th General Election (GE14) on May 9, 2018.
Wheel chair-bound lead prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram was modest to brush aside tributary, claiming that he was neither “happy nor unhappy” with Rosmah’s verdict and sentence but that the prosecution was merely doing its job.
“We are not happy or unhappy with anything. We are just doing our jobs and move on to the next case,” theedgemarkets.com cited him as telling reporters at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex lobby after Rosmah’s judgement. “It is not our role to be happy about someone else’s grief.”
Instead, Sri Ram extended all the credit to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and his team of deputy public prosecutors (DPPs) whom he described as had been “his strength”.
The four DPPs at the trial of the ‘former first lady’ included Ahmad Akram Gharib, Mohd Mustafa P. Kunyalam, Poh Yih Tinn and Deepa Nair Thevaharan.
Former education minister Dr Maszlee Malik was similarly relieved that justice has finally been served to the people of Sarawak – more than four years after he had brought Rosmah’s graft case to the MACC in 2018 following his appointment as the education minister.
“The truth is finally out and justice has finally prevailed. The cruelty to take away the rights of Malaysian children in Sarawak who struggle with hardships to gain knowledge has been reciprocated,” he noted in a Facebook posting yesterday (Sept 1).
“I feel grateful because what I had revealed and brought to the MACC and the police in 2018 when I was at the education ministry has been proven today and thanks to all parties involved.”
While Rosmah shed tears and sobbed while giving a statement from the dock after being found guilty on all three counts of corruption against her – urging High Court judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan to consider her as “a woman taking over a man’s role” – her lawyer has denounced the RM970 mil the Malaysian fine as being “too high”.
Datuk Jagjit Singh who was visibly upset pointed out that there has never been a higher fine amount imposed for a case before in courts – an even surpassed that of Najib’s RM210 mil fine in his SRC International Sdn Bhd’s embezzlement case.
“The fine is RM970 mil, that’s almost RM1 bil. You tell me, can anybody afford that amount? I can’t afford that,” he told a media conference after the conclusion of Rosmah’s trial. “Now our client has to come up with nearly RM1 bil and she doesn’t have a source of income.”
On a brighter note, Jagjit said the defence will be appealing the case – a process that is likely to take around six months, if not more.
“The fine and jail sentence imposed has been suspended and our client is released on bail, thank God,” he noted. “She is able to go home and be with her family members.”
Affordability factor aside, Rosmah now joins the ranks of other former first ladies – including those from El Salvador, Honduras, Lesotho and the Philippines who were found guilty of corruption in recent years.
Closer to home, a Philippines anti-graft court had in November 2018 convicted Imelda Marcos, widow of ousted dictator (the late) Ferdinand Marcos, of seven counts of graft.
The 92 year-old ardent shoe collector was sentenced to a minimum of 42 years in prison after being found guilty for creating private foundations in Switzerland between 1978 and 1984 that allowed her family to funnel illegally amassed government funds during the martial law period.
Till today, Imelda whose son Ferdinand Marcos Jr was sworn in as the Philippines’ president on June 30, has not been sent to prison as her case is still pending appeal. – Sept 2, 2022
