BOMBSHELL – CELEBRATION TIME FOR UMNO CROOKS – ALREADY, NAJIB’S HOTSHOT LAWYER HAS BEGUN ‘THREATENING & BULLYING HIGH COURT JUDGE’ – AS FIGHTING FOR POLITICAL SURVIVAL MUHYIDDIN REOPENS THE FLOODGATES FOR CORRUPTION TO SWAMP THE COUNTRY AGAIN

uhyiddin Yassin is a desperate man. He was so desperate that his administration had shamelessly forced a Member of Parliament (MP), Masir Kujat, to be seated together with his backdoor government – Perikatan Nasional – in the Dewan Rakyat (Lower House of Representative) on May 18, despite the fact that Mr. Masir is still part of the Opposition bloc.

Perhaps the backdoor prime minister thought it would be less humiliating to show he has 114 MPs, instead of 113 MPs, behind him. Nonetheless, it’s a total failure that despite splashing positions and cash to buy support since his swearing in as the 8th Prime Minister on March 1, all he got is merely 113 – just 2 majority supports. That explains why he cowardly locked down the Parliament.

And that is exactly why UMNO crooks are celebrating. There’s little doubt that Mr. Muhyiddin is not only the most coward prime minister in the history of the country, not that he has any choice, but also the only puppet leader who can be blackmailed. His party Bersatu (PPBM) isn’t the one who makes the call. His ally, who happens to be his former party – UMNO – is the real master.

When UMNO says jump, the premier can only ask how high. UMNO warlords can profit by milking the “temporary” Perikatan Nasional government, but when things go south, all the blame will be on the 73-year-old Muhyiddin. For this reason alone, it would be foolish for UMNO crooks not to capitalize on the desperate prime minister to get what they want before calling for a snap election.

UMNO has discovered to their delight that Muhyiddin’s newly appointed Attorney General, Idrus Harun, is just as lame as the prime minister. Now they can safely laugh at the Muhyiddin’s pledge made on March 2, his first televised address to the nation as prime minister – that he was no traitor and he wanted to fight corruption, not to mention he offered himself to save the country.

Attorney General Idrus has just discharged Riza Aziz, the stepson of former Prime Minister Najib Razak. Initially, on July 5, 2019, Riza was slapped with 5 charges of money laundering involving US$248 million (RM1.25 billion), which were misappropriated from sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). If convicted, he could be jailed up to 5 years.

Thanks to the new administration of Muhyiddin, Riza Aziz is required to return about US$107.3 million (RM465.3 million) worth of overseas assets which he acquired as part of the settlement. That was indeed an unbelievable deal never seen in the history of Malaysia’s Judiciary system. After stealing US$248 million, the stepson of Najib just needs to return 43% of his loot.

To make matters worse, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has become a toothless tiger once again. Together with a weak IGP (Inspector General of Police) Abdul Hamid Bador, who is counting his days before his contract ends next year, the MACC and the Attorney General’s Chambers are waiting for the next instructions from the corrupt UMNO regime.

Yes, the good old days of UMNO are finally here. But the corrupt UMNO politicians are not the only one celebrating. UMNO lawyers like Shafee Abdullah is smiling from ear to ear too. Previously, under the Pakatan Harapan government, the hotshot lawyer of Najib had pulled out many cheap tricks, including getting injured by his guard dogs, just so he could delay the trial of his client.

Shafee no longer needs to be cautious and pretentious whenever he needs to delay Najib’s 1MDB trial. Muhyiddin’s treachery and betrayal also mean the UMNO corrupt attorney is once again untouchable. Emboldened by the failure of lame A.G. Idrus Harun to uphold rule of law, Mr. Shafee has today tried to test how far he can push the limit of the High Court.

Apparently, the disgraced Shafee Abdullah, who himself had been arrested and charged with money laundering and tax evasion during the previous Pakatan Harapan government, has engaged in a heated and prolonged argument with Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah over the number of lawyers that can be allowed into the courtroom.

Hotshot lawyer Shafee, who is defending Najib’s RM2.28 billion 1MDB trial, demanded more lawyers of his defence team be granted permission inside the court for him to discharge his duties effectively, while Judge Sequerah insisted that precaution against Coronavirus pandemic must be complied seriously as human lives must be protected at whatever cost.

Social distancing protocols and rules in the court say only three lawyers and three prosecutors are allowed to sit in front. However, Shafee was not impressed because without his team of 11 lawyers in the room, he appears crippled and malfunctioned. What will happen to ordinary folks who could not afford a top lawyer, let alone a defence team of 11 lawyers?

Mr Shafee’s argument that he needed more lawyers, preferably the full force of 11 lawyers, to argue his case effectively suggests that he was not such a hotshot lawyer after all. He needed a huge team to impress – even intimidate – both prosecutor as well as the judge to win his case. Despite the argument lasted 15 minutes, Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah had refused to give in.

In fact, Shafee’s insistence had gotten the judge so irritated that he sarcastically suggested the trial be conducted at a wholesale market – “If that is the case I suggest we might as well adjourn to Pasar Borong Selayang (Selayang wholesale market) and let everyone sit all over the place. We can then have the hearing without any restrictions. How many lawyers do you need in court?”

For the record, the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market cluster is the second-largest locally transmitted Covid-19 cluster after the Sri Petaling Tabligh religious gathering cluster (which has so far recorded 3,347 cases). According to the Health Ministry, the Tabligh cluster constitutes about half (48%) of the total Coronavirus cases in the country.

Earlier on Tuesday (May 19), the judge already gave some freedom and flexibility, allowing both defence and prosecutor to add one more member during the proceedings, although the SOP (standard operating procedure) only allows two persons on each team. To prevent the spread of Coronavirus, only 3 lawyers are allowed in at any one time during the trial.

Not only was Shafee throwing tantrums for not given his candies, he also appeared to threaten the High Court Judge. When it was clear that the judge refused to entertain his request, the lead defence counsel threatened to quit – “I cannot function like this. I have not spoken to my client. I may need to discharge myself. I look like a fool when I try to check documents.”

Annoyed with the strict social distancing protocols enforced by Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah, Najib’s hotshot lawyer had also suggested to the judge that the trial be postponed as he could not function under the current circumstances. Shafee argued that to ensure a fair trial and safety of human life, the best option is not to proceed with Najib’s trial.

Ah, so the real intention is to delay the trial again. As far as crooks like Najib and his lawyer Shafee are concerned, if the trial can be postponed until the next general election in 2023, Najib’s chances of walking away a free man is as good as 100%. With a tough nut to crack like Judge Sequerah, it will not be a smooth sailing.

Still, that does not prevent the UMNO despicable lawyer from openly threatening and bullying the High Court Judge, something that he would consider twice under the previous Pakatan Harapan government. The next step is to harass and intimidate the Chief Justice’s office, where Shafee will write to demand for an exemption for more lawyers.

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