Najib Abdul Razak, who is the son of the nation’s second premier Abdul Razak Hussein, succeeded his late father as the MP for Pekan, Pahang, in 1976 at the age of 23.
From then on, he was groomed and destined for the highest office of the land.
At the age of 29, Najib became the menteri besar of Pahang, holding the position until 1986 when the then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad appointed him as the culture, youth and sports minister.
Najib continued to rise up the ranks in Umno and government, holding numerous senior ministerial portfolios, before becoming deputy prime minister in 2004.
At the time, he was implicated in the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu but police investigations cleared him of any involvement.
After Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was forced to vacate the premiership following BN’s electoral setback in the 2008 polls, Najib became prime minister with Mahathir’s blessings at the age of 56 in 2009.
Despite his numerous attempts to win over public confidence by positioning himself as a liberal and inclusive leader, including incurring Mahathir’s wrath when he repealed the draconian Internal Security Act, BN suffered a setback in the 2013 general election.
In 2015, the 1MDB scandal erupted, sending Najib’s political fortunes into a tailspin, which culminated in BN’s defeat in the 2018 general election and Mahathir’s return as prime minister for the second time.
The road to prison
On July 3, 2018, two months after the watershed election, Najib was arrested.
The next day, he was hauled to court and slapped with three charges of criminal breach of trust and one count of abuse of power over the RM42 million from the then 1MDB subsidiary, SRC International Bhd, which landed in his bank account.
On Aug 8, three more charges related to money laundering were added to the list.
Then High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali presided over the hearing from April 3, 2019 until March 11, 2020, during which a total of 86 witnesses testified.
Like all his hearings, the matter was postponed several times, including due to Covid-19 infections, and on one occasion when Najib’s counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah was injured after his dog caused him to fall and suffer soft tissue damage.
On July 28, 2020, the former premier was found guilty on all charges, slapped with a 12-year prison term and RM210 million fine.
Failing to settle the fine would lead to Najib spending an extra five years behind bars.
However, he was granted a stay of execution pending his appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Despite his legal woes, Najib continued to be active in politics, often taking to social media to launch sarcastic pot shots at the opposition and even campaigning in by-elections.
On Dec 8 last year, the former premier was dealt another blow when the Court of Appeal’s three-member bench upheld the High Court’s conviction and sentence following a 15-day hearing.
At the time, ad hoc prosecutor V Sithambaram said the verdict exonerated judge Nazlan, whom Najib’s lawyers had attempted to discredit.
Legal woes not over
Najib filed an appeal with the Federal Court on the same day and was granted another stay of execution, allowing the former premier, who identified himself with the moniker Bossku, to continue immersing himself in political affairs.
On June 10 this year, Najib filed a motion to seek a re-trial by presenting new evidence to show that Nazlan, who had since been elevated to the Court of Appeal, should have recused himself due to a conflict of interest.
Last week, the Federal Court dismissed the application to adduce fresh evidence. Najib’s new lawyers also failed to obtain the greenlight to postpone the hearing for several months in order for them to make the necessary preparations.
Following this, Najib issued a statement on how his rights to a fair hearing and liberty were at stake.
Earlier, on July 21 this year, the former premier’s bid to secure the talons of a foreign legal eagle failed to materialise when the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed UK Queen’s Counsel Jonathan Laidlaw’s application to represent Najib in his final appeal.
“I find that there is no single evidence to suggest that Laidlaw has more experience than the local advocates and solicitors in Malaysia. I am of the considered view that the local advocates are well capable of handling such cases at all tiers of the court in Malaysia.
“This does not justify the need to have Laidlaw be admitted on an ad hoc basis as the lead counsel for the appeal before the Federal Court,” said the judge.
But Najib’s legal nightmare is far from over.
The Pekan MP is also on trial over four charges of using his position to obtain bribes totalling RM2.3 billion from 1MDB funds and 21 charges of money laundering involving the same amount.
The court hearing for the case will resume on Thursday, when Najib is expected to be brought to the Kuala Lumpur High Court from Kajang Prison. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.