I never asked Muhyiddin to interfere in my cases, says Najib

 

Najib Razak says he only met then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin once to discuss EPF withdrawals. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Najib Razak maintains that he never sought help from Muhyiddin Yassin to get him cleared of corruption charges.

This comes after Muhyiddin, who was the prime minister from March 2020 to August last year, said he declined to heed requests from Najib and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for help in their corruption cases as he did not want to interfere in the judiciary.

“The accusations are now starting to shift from Najib asking Muhyiddin to drop the cases or change the judges, to sending representatives to plead with Muhyiddin for the cases to be delayed or to remove Gopal Sri Ram as DPP (deputy public prosecutor),” said Najib in a Facebook post.

“Once again, I wish to stress that I have never asked Muhyiddin to drop my cases or to change the judges.”

Najib said he only met Muhyiddin once when the latter was prime minister in December 2020 to request that people be allowed to make withdrawals from their Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

“He asked me about my court cases and I told him I was still applying to recuse Gopal Sri Ram as the (lead) prosecutor in my cases,” he said.

Last December, the Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction of Najib by the High Court in July 2020 in relation to RM42 million belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd. His 12-year jail term and a fine of RM210 million on charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering were also upheld.

Najib is also involved in four other trials that include corruption and money laundering charges involving RM2.3 billion. - FMT