Malay Muslims view Najib's arrest as selective prosecution - survey

A recent survey by independent research outfit Ilham Centre has found that the Malay Muslim community did not consider the arrest and court charges against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his spouse Rosmah Mansor a big issue.

Ilham's spokesperson Yusri Ibrahim said the survey - which was conducted among 18 focus groups from Oct 1 to Nov 1 - found three viewpoints from respondents, where some even perceived the action against the duo as "selective prosecution".

The 18 focus groups were selected from six regions: north, south, central, and the east coast on the Peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak.

Yusri said it was interesting as the 1MDB scandal allegedly involving Najib and his wife may seem massive on TV or media, but the survey found that the Malay Muslim respondents they interviewed did not pay much attention to the matter.

"When asked about their opinion about Najib and Rosmah, those from the northern and southern region, including those from the older age group, did not respond beyond saying that the matter should be left to the courts to decide," Yusri told a Penang Institute's forum - 'Malay Muslims in Transition:Where are they heading] - held in George Town last night.

"A small group even expressed sympathy for Najib and felt that yhe Pakatan Harapan government was taking out its revenge on Najib," added Yusri, who earlier said the survey was based on interviews with 125 respondents from the six regions in the country.

"They see the charges against Najib as selective prosecution, and expressed concerns that the judiciary would side with the government, like it happened during BN's rule prior to the May 9 national polls this year," he said.

Yusri said the respondents pointed out to two well-known court cases involving Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli which were dropped.

'Timely action'

However, he said there was a third viewpoint where respondents, mostly youths from the central region, welcomed the actions against the former premier and his wife.

"This group said the action against Najib was timely. They had hoped to see it happen so that the rule of law can be upheld and they are quite excited about the court cases."

Among others, Najib faces four counts of graft and 21 counts of money laundering involving the 1MDB funds, which has been set for trial from April 15 to May 3.

He also faces the charge of allegedly tampering with the 1MDB's audit report. The case will be mentioned at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on March 1.

At the two-hour forum last night, Penang Institute executive director Ooi Kee Beng gave the opening speech, while its research fellow Wong Chin Huat, ProjekMM editor Fathi Aris Omar, and Lawyers for Liberty executive director Latheefa Koya were panel speakers.

The forum was moderated by Penang Institute researcher Mohd Izzuddin Ramli. - Mkini