MALAYSIA EXPM NAJIB PLEADS ‘NOT GUILTY’ TO CORRUPTION
Just eight weeks after losing an election, former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was charged on Wednesday with abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in an investigation over billions of dollars missing from a state fund.
Najib pleaded not guilty, but the charges, the first of their kind faced by a Malaysian premier, and his court appearance were the culmination of a stunning downfall for the man who led the country for nearly a decade.
“I believe in my innocence and this is the best chance to clear my name,” Najib told reporters after being released on bail of 1 million ringgit ($247,000).
Najib thwarted corruption allegations for three years after revelations in 2015 that hundreds of millions of dollars from troubled state fund 1MDB were diverted to his personal accounts.
But his life has unravelled since the election defeat by his one-time mentor Mahathir Mohamad, who returned to the prime minister’s office he occupied from 1981 to 2003.
Mahathir reopened an investigation into the fund and barred Najib from leaving the country. The charges fulfilled an election promise to prosecute Najib, whom he called a “thief” during the campaign.
Najib is charged with abuse of power and three counts of criminal breach of trust, each of the four charges carrying prison terms of up to 20 years. He was ordered to surrender his passports and the judge set the trial for February 2019. AGENCIES
KUALA LUMPUR: