To the Accused Person in High Court No. 3

Activist-lawyer Azhar Harun pens a sarcastic response to Najib Razak and his counsel Mohd Shafee Abdullah after Najib's day in court.

FMT LETTERS

Najib Razak was charged on Wednesday at High Court No 3, Criminal Divsion, Kuala Lumpur. (AFP pic)

By Azahar Harun

Dear Accused Person in PP v Najib Razak,

You are darn lucky to have a refined gentleman – a person who goes about doing his work quietly; who is fair and who is not beholden to anybody, including the government – as the Prosecutor in your Criminal Breach of Trust case.

You could have had a real cowboy of a Prosecutor, but the New Malaysia is not about having cowboys occupying powerful seats in powerful institutions as in the not too distant past under your so-called wasatiyah and walaq leadership.

So dear Accused Person, count your lucky stars. Because the days of doing things according to the whims and fancies of the Executive are over and you are, quite ironically, one of the biggest beneficiaries of that.

Thus, you were brought to Court without being handcuffed. And you were allowed to wear your nice (Brioni?) suit, well dolled up like the superstar that you are.

Even your not very well-mannered supporters were allowed to gather (with no notice given under the law), carrying placards professing their undying love for you and singing songs for you. Why, they were even allowed to interrupt a public officer from doing his duty by creating a noisy ruckus forcing the Attorney-General to change his plan to make statements to the press. Had that happened when you were the Prime Minister, I am quite sure the policemen would not have been that lenient.

You were even given the luxury of posting bail in installments, a privilege that not many are able to enjoy. The Court had even given you the privilege of a temporary gag order, even though no proper application was made before the Court, and the Prosecutor was not even afforded the courtesy of prior notice.

Are you blind at how you were treated that day?

Your good Counsel later attacked the Prosecutor, saying that he was not ready or prepared. He complained that the Prosecutor had not given him any documents.

Dear Accused Person, your Counsel has been around for a long time. Can you ask him how many times in his 40 years or so of criminal law practice has he ever been supplied with documents on the day the charge was read?

I think the answer would be zero. Nada. Zilch (or whatever Arab word for zero that you prefer).

Talking about being prepared, may I know when will you be prepared to sue the living daylights off Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, BBC, Guardian and almost every other newspaper and news company in the whole civilised world for defaming you? Really, because one day quite some time ago, you said you were going to sue WSJ “next Tuesday.”

I understand you were busy and all before because as Prime Minister you had a lot to do. But now you must be free.

Talking about preparedness, the Prosecutor has said that he wants to apply for the case to be tried in November instead of the trial dates the Court had fixed, in February and March next year. Dear Accused Person, again, you are given a privilege here. So, what are you complaining about? Who is not prepared? Are you?

Who is delaying your case? You or the Attorney-General?

So Sir, sit tight and enjoy the ride. You will have your day in the witness box saying your piece and being cross-examined by Mr Tommy Thomas with the Court’s CCTV recording your every word and every eye and facial muscle movement. After all, as they say in English, “every dog has his day”.

Perhaps you could even take a selfie or two with Mr Tommy Thomas during the breaks.

*Najib Razak has been charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of abuse of power. His case was brought up on Wednesday at High Court No. 3, Criminal Division.*

Azhar Harun is an FMT reader.