NAJIB SEEKS RADICAL CHANGE OF IMAGE
Ex-PM tries to elicit public sympathy before corruption trial
DISGRACED former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been out in recent weeks campaigning as if for an election, trying to shed the image of a wealthy, elite politician and elicit public sympathy before his corruption trial begins on Tuesday.
Najib has pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering, in what is set to be the first of many trials over suspected multibillion-dollar fraud at state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
The trial starts nine months after Malaysians voted Najib out of office in a general election dominated by public disgust over allegations some US$4.5 billion were stolen from 1MDB, and about a quarter of it went into his personal bank accounts.
Police found nearly US$300 million worth of goods and cash at properties linked to Najib soon after the May election.
But as the trial date nears, Najib, who has maintained his innocence, has sought a radical change of image, painting himself as a victim of a vindictive government led by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The 65-year-old son of the second prime minister is also trying to build an image as a folksy voice of working people, especially Malays.
Najib, in a viral video last month, crooned a Malay-language version of the 1970s hit Kiss and Say Goodbye, surrounded by a chorus of sombre young singers, criticising Dr Mahathir’s coalition for failing to live up to election promises.
“On May 9, 2018, I was ousted. All this time, I have been fighting with my life for the people I love. But what can I do?” an earnest Najib said of his “saddest day” in the introduction to the song.
Najib had also been hitting out online. His jibes against ruling party politicians on Facebook and Twitter had some social media users referring to him as “King of Trolls”.
A relaxed, casually dressed Najib also paid a visit this month to Langkawi, Dr Mahathir’s island constituency, where he pottered around town, visiting markets, eating at hawker stalls and rubbing elbows and posing for selfies with passersby.
Dr Mahathir was not impressed. He told a news conference last week Najib seemed to be getting popular on social media because “he provides a lot of stories”.
Harvinderjit Singh, one of Najib’s lawyers, declined to comment on the former premier’s public appearances, but said the 1MDB trials were unlikely to be affected by the hoopla.
“The case is going to be determined by what happens in court, not out of it,” he said.
While Najib has been trying to build public support, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (A-GC) has been building a formidable team to prosecute Najib, his wife and a host of other former top officials charged with corruption. All of them pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution had been recruiting top notch criminal attorneys, including former Gederal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram and Sulaiman Abdullah, a lawyer with a background in cases of whitecollar crime.
The A-GC had also recalled several prosecutors from state offices to join the team, two lawyers with knowledge of the matter said.
The A-GC did not respond to a request for comment.
Najib had a defence team of eight lawyers, led by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who once represented the government in a sodomy case against former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Najib could face years in prison. He faces 39 criminal charges over losses at 1MDB and other state entities.
Seven of those charges will be the subject of Tuesday’s trial, relating to transfers totalling RM42 million ringgit into Najib’s personal bank account from SRC International, a former 1MDB unit.
Prosecutors have handed nearly 3,000 pages of documents to the defence ahead of the trial, said Najib’s lawyer Harvinderjit.
The documents included statements from 26 witnesses, some of whom were SRC officials, who will likely be called to testify.
Najib, who has not been asked to testify in his own defence, hopes only for a fair trial, Harvinderjit said.
“Our client is of the view that if he gets a fair trial, then the truth will show itself to the public,” he said.
THE High Court yesterday gave Datuk Seri Najib Razak a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) over three additional charges against him last week.
Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali made the order after allowing an application by Attorney-General Tommy Thomas, who is the public prosecutor in the case, for a DNAA for the money laundering charges against the former prime minister involving RM47 million.
Nazlan said the public prosecutor had the power to discontinue or decline to further prosecute at any stage of the trial.
“In my view, upon request by the public prosecutor, I order that the accused be discharged of the three additional charges not amounting to an acquittal,” he added.
On the issue of the transfer of Najib’s seven existing charges involving abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering in relation to the SRC International Sdn Bhd funds, Nazlan said the cases should continue to be tried by the High Court on the basis that it would be expedient for the ends of justice.
“There is no prejudice or injustice caused to the defence of the accused in essence or substance. There are no changes to this proceedings other than merely on the basis of transfers of the case,” the judge said, adding that the case had generated much public interest locally and internationally.
Earlier, Thomas, in his submission seeking an order of DNAA on the charges, said there was an argument on whether there should be a joint trial of the additional charges levelled against Najib, 66, on Jan 28 and the existing seven charges.
Thomas also said that previously the seven existing charges against Najib were transferred to the High Court under Section 428A of the Criminal Procedure Code.
He said, however, in view of the recent Federal Court decision in the Semenyih Jaya Sdn Bhd and M. Indira Gandhi cases, there was doubt in respect of the exercise of the power of the public prosecutor to transfer a case from the Sessions Court to the High Court under that section of the CPC.
“Hence, out of abundance of caution, I will withdraw the certificate I issued to avoid any possible argument that the transfer is a nullity. These procedural steps are necessary to prevent any unnecessary postponement of the trial,” he added.
Thomas said he would be charging Najib with the three charges before the Sessions Court later.
Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who led Najib’s defence team, expressed shock when the prosecution team informed that they did not wish to proceed with the three additional charges.
“This is not a nasi kandar shop where you can just add on rice ... The hearing will begin next Tuesday. What will the prosecution do? The three new charges have nothing to do with the old cases (SRC International). The amount of money involved and the account numbers are different,” he said.