“No country bumpkin” gets his just deserts as the curtain finally comes down on 1MDB stage

 

THE curtain has finally come down on the sordid 1MDB scandal with the main actor Datuk Seri Najib Razak who stands out with the moniker Bossku found guilty of 25 charges related to abuse of power and money laundering.

High Court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah delivered his verdict which left no room for doubt that the disgraced former premier – the “most powerful man at the time” – was the man who pulled all the strings in this heinous crime against the country.

Justice has been served and the man gifted with “superior intelligence” will have to serve 15 years in jail alongside a landmark RM11.38 bil fine.

Behind the glossy shield of an “impeccable family and political pedigree” lies the true nature of this politician – a wily crook and not a “country bumpkin”.

It took a seven-year court trial to expose the mind-boggling working of 1MDB and at the centre of it all is the mastermind who operated from the comfort zone of his powerful office.

There are other crooks like fugitive financier Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) who did the dirty work for Najib and they, too, must suffer a similar fate. But it is Najib who is the “star attraction” by virtue of his high position in society.

Justice has been served

The sixth premier and 10-term Pekan MP should have set an exemplary conduct in public office but he chose to walk down the slippery path to obtain ill-gotten wealth. Embezzling (or stealing) RM2.5 bil from a state investment fund is a crime of the highest order.

Will the dust settle for good now that the villain of the piece in the 1MDB affairs has been dealt with severely? Will the supporters of Bossku accept the harsh reality that their hero is nothing more than a political “robber baron”?

But some UMNO quarters might just be hell bent to vent their wrath on Pakatan Harapan (PH) and portray the whole issue as a plot by the PH leadership to destroy permanently the political career of Najib.

Perhaps, the UMNO top leaders might be persuaded to pull the party out of the coalition government which might lead to the collapse of the Madani administration.

But UMNO, once the mighty giant in Malaysian politics, has already bitten the dust and is no longer a force to be reckoned with. It is a discredited party whose fall from power coincided with the downfall of Najib.

Even if UMNO quit the alliance, there is always a possibility, however remote it is, that PAS might step in and join the government through the backdoor.

Or out of sheer spite, UMNO might join forces with PAS and other smaller parties to topple PH which might see PAS holding the reins of power in Putrajaya. In politics, there are no permanent friends or enemies.

The 1MDB saga will remain an indelible black mark in the Malaysian landscape and no amount of UMNO whitewashing can turn back the clock.

The incarceration of Najib will serve as a bitter lesson to all aspiring politicians that crime does not pay. It will be one chapter that must be read avidly by all students of Malaysian history. 

Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtt.

- Focus Malaysia.