Defence lawyer Shafee Abdullah, explaining that former Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak would give judicial notice on 1MDB, cites Swiss case on finding of fact and cautioned the media on editorialising in reporting on and continuing the Trial by Media!
Commentary And Analysis . . . Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has earned merits on the ongoing RM2.3b 1MDB case in Malaysia. A Swiss Court, in declaring conviction on US$1.8b 1MDB case, made finding of fact on two accused persons. The Swiss court, in convicting the duo, saw no reason for mentioning Najib in the same breath in the ruling.
Najib has been vindicated in the Swiss Court’s Finding Of Fact on the 1MDB case. The Swiss court, said Defence lawyer Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah, made no finding that fugitive fund manager Jho Low represented the former Prime Minister.
Shafee, explaining during press briefing in the Kuala Lumpur High Court on 2 September that Najib would give judicial notice on 1MDB, cited the Swiss case in no uncertain terms.
He cautioned the media on editorialising in reporting on Najib and continuing the discredited Trial by Media initiated by dictatorial former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad in 2013. Mahathir wanted Najib and Umno out of the way, permanently if possible, otherwise temporarily in buying time for political dynasty based on the one man show syndrome.
Najib
Umno/BN remains among the few political parties which have been institionalised i.e. they will always have seats in the legislature. Other institutionalised parties include DAP and PAS in Malaya, PBS with Star in tow in Sabah, and PBB with PRS in tow in Sarawak.
It’s open secret that Mahathir, living in glass house, was in cahoots with DAP — wannabe Muslim majority party eyeing the Prime Minister’s post — when he initiated Trial by Media against Najib after GE13.
The Opposition, increasingly hysterical in mixing half truth with fiction and fantasy against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), compromised public confidence in 1MDB’s IPO (initial public offering). It virtually rendered the national sovereign wealth fund insolvent overnight despite assets exceeding liabilities. The disruption of 1MDB’s cash flow forced reliance on the Ministry of Finance for meeting immediate commitments including on loan repayments and payment of coupons on bond monies.
The jury, in the wake of the criminal conviction in Switzerland on US$1.8b 1MDB case, may no longer be out on the RM2.3b 1MDB case in the High Court of Malaya on former Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. The proverbial letter of representation on the 1MDB case in Malaysia has emerged as idea whose time has come.
1MDB
The prognosis, on the RM2.3b 1MDB case, remains good for the letter of representation based on Attorney General Tan Sri Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh not opposing the Pardon’s Board letter dated 29 January this year on the halving of Najib’s 12 year jail sentence for the RM42m SRC International case.
There’s Appeal at the court of appeal on Agong’s Decree on house arrest. It was reportedly declared outside the Pardon’s Board meet and related letter. The case mention has been set for 7 October. High Court Judge Amarjeet Singh, put on blinkers on 3 July and dismissed judicial review on the house arrest. He ruled that Najib’s 2nd Affidavit, based on Prime Minister’s own words in the media on house arrest, was hearsay. In law, the Evidence Act 1950, circumstantial evidence in the form of admissible hearsay and even conspiracy theories was accepted in civil cases.
The reduced fine on the jail sentence being halved now stands at RM50m, down from RM210m. The flaw in the Pardon’s Board letter may be that remission wasn’t mentioned. If there was remission on the halving, Najib would have gone home on 22 August or 23 August this year. Now, he will stay in jail until 2028, with or without pardon. Najib, under the original 12 year jail sentence, merits release on 22 August or 23 August in 2026, based on remission. Najib was jailed, unrepresented, on 23 August 2022. — NMH
Longtime Borneo watcher Joe Fernandez has been writing for many years on both sides of the Southeast Asia Sea. He should not be mistaken for a namesake formerly with the Daily Express in Kota Kinabalu. JF keeps a Blog under FernzTheGreat on the nature of human relationships.
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