Treated badly? Najib didn’t behave well after GE14, says ex-judge

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Retired judge Gopal Sri Ram. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: A retired judge today responded to Najib Razak’s claims that he had been treated badly after the May 9 polls, saying the former prime minister had not relinquished power in an orderly fashion following Barisan Nasional’s (BN) defeat.

Gopal Sri Ram said Najib had not immediately conceded defeat to Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad even though it was clear that the coalition had secured a simple majority of 113 seats in the Dewan Rakyat.

“In fact, he told a news conference the following day that no single party had managed to form the government, when that was not the case.”

Najib had complained yesterday that he was treated badly despite ensuring a smooth transition of power after the general election.

Najib, who is Pekan MP, also said his wife Rosmah Mansor and their children had been put under pressure.

However, Sri Ram said Najib had not even been at the Istana Negara to facilitate the swearing in of Mahathir as the new prime minister.

“He should also have met Mahathir at the Prime Minister’s Office and handed over the necessary documents and briefed the new prime minister. All this was never done.”

Sri Ram also accused the Election Commission of delaying the announcement of results on polling night.

“The commission was playing the fool with the results,” he added, pointing to Sabah where he said Parti Warisan Sabah had initially won 35 seats, enough to form the government. This was later reduced to 29, he added.

He also questioned Najib’s move to call his rival Anwar Ibrahim on the night of the election, asking for advice on what he should do.

“Events after the election only go to show that Najib now wants to misrepresents the facts,” he added.

Sri Ram said a classic local example of an orderly power transition was when former Penang chief minister Koh Tsu Koon congratulated DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng after BN’s defeat in the state in the 2008 election.

“Koh attended Lim’s swearing-in ceremony and later was in the chief minister’s office to hand over files and provide a briefing,” he added.