Najib’s arrest shows rule of law is alive and well

In the past, we have seen it bent, twisted, tainted, criticised, demonised, politicised, and undergo a gauntlet of trials. It survived and is intact. That it took time to stir into action in the arrest and charging of former PM Najib Abdul Razak is a good sign. The government had to get its facts right and prepare a watertight case. In such matters, patience in being thorough is a virtue.

PM Mahathir Mohamad has kept his word. After winning GE14, he said there will be no revenge against Najib but will let the rule of law take its course. And indeed, it will, seeing the eyes of the world will be watching the mother of trials in the world's “worst case of kleptocracy”.

Malaysia will be in the world news again for the wrong reasons. There is, however, no shame in making your nation’s leader accountable to the rule of law. Only a pariah nation condones a corrupt leader. Many countries have fallen leaders. Eventually the law metes out justice for the people, and the allegedly corrupt are convicted and jailed. Every accused errant country leader has had to own up to one’s wrongdoings despite initial protests of innocence.

I clearly remember former US President Bill Clinton looked squarely at the TV camera and declared, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” In the end, he had to face the TV camera again and before the American public, confessed his misdeed. Truth won.

It takes a brave man to admit one’s mistakes. The public is more inclined to forgive a contrite sinner who confesses his mistakes and willful wrongdoings than a charlatan who further drags others into his morass of dishonesty and corruption. Najib has no choice but to submit to the laws of the land.

The four charges may be the first in a series of charges against Najib. Many of these involve foreign banks transactions. The government has been able to sift through the evidence from its own investigations and the evidence given by foreign sources. In time, the investigations involving local state-owned entities will unravel. Expect Najib to face more charges.

It is an insult to the public for the fallen Najib to cite political reasons behind his arrest and charges. These are wild accusations. For some years now, civil society, besides the politicians, have been complaining about the fraudulent activities of 1MDB. Surely Najib knows law-breaking prime ministers can expect to be charged.

Look at South Korea. “Almost all of South Korea’s presidents have seen their reputations tarnished toward the end of their tenure or during their retirement because of corruption scandals involving them, their relatives or aides,” the New York Times reported.

A former South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak (2008-2013), is jailed on charges of bribery and embezzlement, among others. Unlike Najib, Lee is contrite and remorseful. The NYT reported, “‘I consider all this my own fault and feel remorse,’ Mr Lee, 76, said in a handwritten statement posted on Facebook shortly before his arrest.” He is the fourth former president to have been arrested on corruption charges since the 1990s.

I urge those Malays who support Najib to go read their Quran and the Sunnah and see what they teach on corruption. No Allah-fearing Muslim is taught to support any leader who is corrupt or allegedly corrupt. People can pray until the cows come home, but God is deaf to the prayers of the wicked.

Silver lining

Since Malaysiakini’s inception, I have been contributing articles on good governance and criticised corruption. So have other ordinary Malaysians at home and abroad, including foreigners such as Australian Dean Jones and former American ambassador, John Malott. They who write on Malaysia share one passion - that Malaysia will be a country of truth, justice and good governance.

Sarawak Report, which focused on corruption of the Abdul Taib Mahmud government in Sarawak, was one of the first to release reports of its investigative journalism into 1MDB. The Edge publication later got involved. And when the 1MDB scandal broke out into the wider public arena, it became a matter of earnest public concern.

The above and more write in the public interest. No doubt, Najib will ridicule them and anyone who does not support him as ‘politically motivated’. He is probably right. They want to see corrupt politicians arrested, charged, convicted and pay for their crimes. That was why the majority of voters were politically motivated to bring down Najib. And they did it despite Najib’s money politics and dirty tricks.

Now for Najib to claim the government is out to get him is nothing short of scandalous. Whether he is guilty or not is for the courts to decide. But in the court of public opinion, Najib is a man in denial. Like the regal ignoramus in the fable of the Emperor’s New Clothes, he wants people to indulge in his fantasy. The spinmeister believes his own spin and that’s the tragedy of it all. Self-delusion is a life sentence.

If there is a silver lining in the rise and fall and further troubles of Najib, it is for the nation to learn an invaluable lesson. We must never allow a country leader, whoever he or she is, to hold the kind of power that Najib wielded - ever again.

For Najib - the ‘Bugis warrior’ or hollow braggadocio, guilty or innocent, hero or villain - it does not matter. The day of reckoning has come. And to many Malaysians, that is more than what they had hoped for. The fair trial the attorney-general has promised will finally expose the truth.

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STEVE OH is the author of the novel ‘Tiger King of the Golden Jungle’ and composer of the musical of the same title. He believes in good governance and morally upright leaders. - Mkini