Najib has used up all his nine lives

 

The main lessons some of us may learn from the convicted felon Najib Abdul Razak's outburst outside the Federal Court on Aug 16 are these:

i) If you want something done properly, especially after decades of predominantly Malay, male chauvinism, ask a woman to take charge.

ii) The verbal assault on the judiciary by Najib has backfired. The earlier attack on the High Court judge, Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, has also failed.

iii) Najib is responsible for shattering the myth that political elites, like him, are untouchable.

Who does Najib think he is? He is the last person on earth to lecture us on fairness and liberty.  Like everyone else, he, too, has the right to life, but in his warped little world, his right to life included the licence to rob the rakyat and the nation of its wealth and its reputation.

By playing the race and religion cards, Najib condoned corruption and abuse of power. He allowed both to spiral out of control and robbed generations of young Malaysians of their right to a decent future. 

Millions of law-abiding Malaysians have a rightful place in this country we all call home. They did not steal from the public or use the state apparatus to amass more wealth or further their self-interests.

Many Malaysians who find themselves on the wrong side of the law have no funds to pay teams of lawyers, or source foreign lawyers to wriggle out of a conviction.

I know of people whose only 'crime' was to write a few sentences on social media, expressing their own opinions about Malaysian injustice.

They were hunted down by the police, suffered beatings in jail, forced to sign confessions, bailed out by friends and lawyers, and then released; only for the law to hound them again and the harassment to resume.

A few of these young men have been forced to seek exile to protect themselves and their immediate families. They were forced to flee by leaders and lapdogs of crooked leaders, like Najib, who did not appreciate their attempts to highlight the injustice in the system. What right to life did these young men have?

It was Najib's profligacy with our money, and his failure to tackle corruption, which are the root causes of the looming crises we now face. He held the country to ransom with his narcissistic tendencies, such as his superiority complex, his sense of entitlement and his attention-seeking.

‘Unrestrained splurge of spending’

Najib treated the Federal Treasury as his own personal kitty. His solution to the many problems we face, for example, the failure of Malay-owned businesses like Sapura or Boustead, was to throw more good money after bad.

He also went through an unrestrained splurge of spending. For their loyalty, cronies and allies were rewarded with inflated salaries for doing no work. Vulnerable opposition foes were bought off.

Until, and unless, narcissists like Najib are stopped in their tracks, future generations of Malaysians will be saddled with crippling debts, but more importantly, the breed of leaders after him will continue to govern in his style.

On the first day of his appeal, Najib was able to sense that his freedom was fast slipping away from his grasp. He was also furious that the judiciary was not playing ball. This is where we must be careful. Desperate people will do desperate things because they have so much to lose. The desperate Najib will try and drag as many people into the gutter with him.

Hisyam Teh Poh Teik

It is impossible to imagine that seasoned lawyers like Hisyam Teh Poh Teik and Zaid Ibrahim have been caught by surprise. They must have been aware of the time constraints and that there was insufficient time to prepare their submissions, and yet, they willingly offered to represent Najib.

Theirs was no mistake, and they probably thought they could force the judges' hands and demand another adjournment. They failed.

To make matters worse, Najib and his two lawyers tried to shift the blame on the panel of judges. That was another wrong and stupid move.

Najib given a fair trial

From day one, the judiciary ensured that Najib was given a fair trial. They must have gritted their teeth at his numerous delay tactics, and when he was late for his court appearance. They accommodated his many requests because they did not want him to spring the accusation that they had stopped him from having a fair trial.

At the time, many of us thought the judges were being too lenient. We now appreciate that they were just being careful.

If Najib had any sense, he would have realised the folly of his ways and stopped wasting our, and the court's time. Our patience is running thin.

Even Najib's supporters are getting jaded. In July 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic, the court complex was swamped with his supporters. On Aug 16, a  mere handful turned up.

Najib has used up all his nine lives.  If he had any sense, he would just bite the bullet, go to jail, and just get it over and done with. Why suffer more mental stress? Why torture himself?

The drama does not end with Najib, as the courts will be busy processing those closest to him, both in his family and his party.  

There is only one obstacle to Malaysia's healing process. Najib!

He must serve his sentence before we can return to the right path. - Mkini

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MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, Twitter.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.