Zahid calls on judiciary to provide 'fair justice' to Najib

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today called on the judiciary to give former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak "fair justice" in his criminal trials.

Saying that Najib was a victim of political persecution, Zahid's call made in his policy speech at the 2022 Umno General Assembly received a resounding round of applause from the party delegates.

He also hit out at a certain group within the party which went against Najib despite his contributions to bringing back the people's support for BN.

"We have taken several steps which changed the landscape and how the rakyat views politics. Eventually, Umno has again regained the people's trust.

"We also didn't have to be apologetic, with Najib's Bossku factor becoming one of the main contributors to the returning support to Umno and BN.

"(However), when the Bossku phenomenon hit the country, a small group within us continued to make noise, questioning Bossku. They repeatedly mentioned issues related to his court cases, despite we all know that the cases were political and selective prosecution.

"We demand that he is given justice in court. We demand that fair justice is given to Datuk Seri Najib," Zahid said.

Multiple charges

Following BN's humiliating defeat in the 14th general election in 2018, a slew of Umno leaders had become subjects of criminal investigations, mostly related to corruption allegations.

Among them was Najib, who was slapped with multiple charges in court related to 1MDB and its former subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.

He had since been found guilty of seven charges related to the SRC International scandal and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and slapped with a total of RM120 million fine. Najib is now serving his jail sentence at the Kajang Prison.

Zahid was the second Umno leader to have brought Najib's name and praised his contributions to the party in this year's Umno general assembly.

Yesterday, Puteri Umno chief Zahida Zarik Khan in her policy speech at the wing's assembly likened Najib to the legendary Malay warrior Hang Tuah who is missed after he is gone. - Mkini