Anwar: From 7-star hotels to prison cell, Najib in for tough time

 

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak is in for a tough time undergoing his prison sentence, said opposition chief Anwar Ibrahim, who had almost a decade of experience being jailed.

The PKR president believed that Najib might get better treatment and facilities compared to what he received during his two prison terms but said that this would not be enough given Najib's posh lifestyle.

"I think Najib... from what I understand from my old colleague prison officers, Najib will be given somewhat better treatment in the sense (he) will be accorded some facilities.

"But still, prison is not a bed of roses.

"It is tough, particularly when compared to his present lifestyle from a seven-star hotel to something really difficult and tough," Anwar said in an interview with CNBC when asked to comment about Najib's jail sentence.

Anwar, who is a former deputy prime minister, spent almost six years in prison after he was convicted of four corruption-related offences in 1999 during Dr Mahathir Mohamad's administration.

In 2015, Anwar was imprisoned again, this time during Najib's administration, after being found guilty of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan. He was released in 2018 after receiving a royal pardon.

Anwar’s experience

Recalling his experience, the Port Dickson MP said his first term during the Mahathir era was "much tougher", including having been denied any access to books and family visits at the initial stage of his imprisonment.

"Even under Najib (administration), I was thrown into a normal lock up sleeping for weeks on the floor, without any consideration for my back problem or my age," he said.

On Tuesday, Najib, who served as the country's sixth prime minister from 2009 to 2018, was sent to the Kajang Prison to undergo his 12-year jail sentence after the Federal Court upheld his criminal convictions with regard to the seven charges linked to RM42 million of funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd.

In a unanimous decision, the five-member Federal Court bench headed by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat upheld the conviction and 12-year prison sentence as well as the RM210 million fine. - Mkini