As Najib faces setbacks, ex-PM supporters target CJ's family

 

With former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak unable to delay his appeal hearing at the Federal Court, several of his supporters took to social media to attack Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat's husband, Zamani Ibrahim.

One set of social media users accused Zamani of authoring a Facebook post on May 11, 2018, where he expressed happiness that Najib had been "dethroned".

The post was accessible yesterday but not at the time of writing.

However, screenshots of the post, along with Zamani's photograph, have been widely shared by critics of the Federal Court panel hearing Najib's final appeal.

Najib is now at his last lap of appeal at the Federal Court to quash his guilty verdict on the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.

Last year, the Court of Appeal upheld the guilty verdict levelled on Najib by the High Court.

Maimun, who was elevated as chief justice in 2019, is leading the panel of five judges hearing the appeal.

On Maimun’s family critics, one of the persons who shared Zamani's 2018 Facebook post was Najib's daughter, Nooryana Najwa.

"This is why it's a losing battle. Every single request from Najib's (defence) team was rejected by the court.

"It's not justice. It is politics," wrote Nooryana on her Instagram.

Desperation

Yesterday, former politician Hamidah Osman lodged a police report on Zamani's now inaccessible Facebook post.

In her report, Hamidah argued that Zamani's 2018 Facebook post had tarnished the judiciary’s image.

"How can we be confident that (Justice) Maimum's judgement will be fair and just, without being influenced by her husband?" wrote Hamidah in her report.

Another group of critics attempted to disparage Zamani's credibility by accusing him of taking photographs in court, which was against court rules.

Malaysiakini cannot independently verify if the person was indeed Zamani or whether he was actually taking photographs.

Zamani himself is a trained lawyer.

Meanwhile, several lawyers have come out to defend Maimun. Muda co-founder and lawyer Lim Wei Jiet said Zamani is a Malaysian citizen who has the right to air his political views.

Lim added that if it was indeed an issue, Najib's defence team could have applied to have Maimun recused earlier but did not do so.

"Even if you want to judge (Zamani), look at the post in full. (It) was balanced, in that he was sad friends from Umno like Mohd Khaled Nordin and Mohamad Hasan had lost.

"The point is, almost everyone had views on who should be celebrated and condemned post-GE14. Why should that mean their spouse isn't impartial?" asked Lim on Twitter.

Similarly, DAP social media bureau chief Syahredzan Johan today hit out at "desperate" critics for attacking the chief justice's family.

"You see how desperate these people are? They are attacking the CJ's family and making clear threats about blood being spilled," wrote Syahredzan. - Mkini