About 500 people were at former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's residence in Pekan, Pahang today for his Hari Raya open house, which he had described as a "modest" affair.
Though this was starkly different from the Hari Raya celebrations he used to hold at Seri Perdana in Putrajaya when he was still prime minister, many of those who turned up today appear to still be hugely supportive of him, clamouring to greet and take pictures with him.
Many of the attendees whom Malaysiakini spoke with did not seem too bothered with the allegations against him by the new government and the fact residences linked to him were raided and cash and jewellery seized.
They opined that it was the government's right to investigate and Najib should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
"The government has the right to investigate, so let them. It is their job, let them do their job and we will wait for the result. I am not the judge (to say whether Najib is innocent or not), let them bring him to court.
"He is innocent until proven guilty," said 58-year-old freelancer Khairul Osman.
Hailing from Kuantan, the man who described himself as Najib's supporter "morally and physically" said he had come to Pekan today to celebrate Hari Raya with the former prime minister adding he had attended Najib's open house in Pekan every year.
Norita Mohd Yusof (below), a 40-year-old housewife, said she also attended every Hari Raya event held by Najib in Pekan as she was an Umno member who lived nearby.
While she believes most of the accusations against Najib are not true, she said she was also shocked by the number of valuables seized by the police in their raids on the residences linked to Najib.
"Of course, I was shocked by the huge amount of things. But we cannot judge him first, let him be investigated first. If there is real proof, then there is nothing we can do," she said.
She asked that the probe be done properly, adding that it was good that an investigation was initiated.
"It is better they investigate him so that later people won't keep talking about this. Once they have investigated, only then we can say whether something was right or not. If they do not probe, then it is merely talk and if its just talk, we will not take it to heart," she said.
Focus on promises
An Umno Youth member who attended the open house also said he does not fault the police for carrying out its duties in investigating Najib.
However, 28-year-old Mohd Faznur Mohd Fadzir advised the public not to jump to conclusions based on speculation.
"We should not make accusations as long as we do not have enough solid proof to charge someone. I hope the rakyat do not get so easily influenced. Let us not simply make speculations which can damage the dignity of someone or their party," he told Malaysiakini.
At the same time, he also criticised the raid on Najib's house at Jalan Duta which was done right after the former prime minister finished prayers.
"Is this the way they (the new government) wants to lead? In my opinion, this should not have happened as it can embarrass the family and the country's image," he said.
While congratulating the Pakatan Harapan government, Mohd Faznur, who is a businessperson, said he believes it would be better for the new administration to focus more on fulfilling its promises to the rakyat.
"The rakyat actually do not want to find the fault with this person or that person. They want to see how far along are Harapan's promises to the rakyat," he said.
A 41-year-old property agent who only wanted to be known as Radin (above) said he attended Najib's open house in Pekan this year because his family, especially his wife, were huge fans of the former premier.
With regards to the allegations against Najib, he said he does not want to make any judgements on the issue yet as the investigation is still ongoing.
"We cannot judge them yet. We are in the midst of the investigation. We have to think the best of both sides for now. I am a property agent, so when I deal with real estate which involves a purchaser and a vendor, I have to protect the interests of both sides. So it is a situation like that as well," he said.
Radin said he believes the luxury bags seized by police from a residence linked to Najib were someone's hobby.
"Some people might prefer to collect antiques, some like to collect handbags. If you are from the upper class, you can get such things easier because you are well off financially so I was not surprised at all (at the amount of items seized)," he said.
He said that he believes Najib had access to such wealth to be able to afford such luxuries. "But they should not go overboard in showing off," he added.
Authorities had conducted several raids on residences linked to Najib including his home at Jalan Duta, three units at the Pavilion Residences (above) and an unassuming house at Precinct 10 in Putrajaya.
They have seized RM114 million cash in various currencies as well as 284 boxes of luxury handbags, jewellery and watches.
Police are still valuing items which they seized from the raids.
The raids were conducted as part of investigations into Najib's alleged involvement in misappropriation of money from the beleaguered state fund, 1MDB. - Mkini
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