With no time-frame for Bossku to start house arrest, shouldn’t UMNO return the SRC fine donations?

 

ON Sept 18, UMNO launched its solidarity fund for incarcerated former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the quest to seek RM50 mil to settle the fine required under his conditional pardon.

The aim was to enable him to serve the remainder of his SRC International Sdn Bhd conviction sentence at home until Aug 23, 2028.

Based on the figure announced on Sept 27, RM9.25 mil had been collected. That left RM40.75 mil outstanding. Less than a fifth of the target had been reached. There has since been no update on the latest collected figure.

What is the party’s position now? The question deserves a proper answer following the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s Oct 14 (yesterday) rejection of Najib’s application to stay his separate 15-year 1MDB prison sentence and approximately RM11.4 bil fine pending appeal.

For the record, that decision does not mean his conditional house arrest is automatically cancelled. The 1MDB jail term is scheduled to begin after Najib has completed his SRC jail sentence – whether in Kajang prison or under house arrest.

While Najib’s lawyers are appealing the decision, it is a well-established fact that legal processes in Malaysia can drag out.

More importantly, it is also an open secret that there are powerful forces in the country bent on seeing Najib stay in the Kajang prison instead of Langgak Duta where his posh bungalow is located and where he is to serve the remainder of his SRC sentence.

Perhaps it’s time for UMNO to consider returning the money back to the donors, given the absence of clarity on when exactly the country’s sixth PM can return home.

After all, given that UMNO is notorious for its “sakau” (wealth plundering) culture, returning the money which would have accrued between RM9,000 and over RM13,000 in interests alone to-date based on market rates of 2% to 3% per annum would put paid to suggestions that the party is taking the public for a ride.

Some donors may happily leave their money in the fund while the legal process continues. That is their choice. Others may decide they want it returned.

The money was collected to help Najib meet a specific condition. It should not remain indefinitely in political safekeeping while contributors wait for another announcement. –  Focus Malaysia