Say no to a delayed Najib trial

Updated 7 years ago · Published on 17 Jan 2019 5:30PM · 6 Comments

Delaying former prime minister Najib Razak's trial will be unwise as Malaysians want to see him in court over the 1MDB scandal as soon as possible. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Afif Abd Halim, January 17, 2019.

MALAYSIANS have been treated to a conveyor belt of news on the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal ever since Pakatan Harapan (PH) took power and lifted the veil fully on the siphoning of billions from government coffers.

Not a day has gone by since May 9 that Malaysians have not been left shocked, disgusted and flaming mad at the magnitude of the alleged looting and lies by Najib Razak and associates.

Now all Malaysians want is for the former prime minister to sit in the dock and defend himself against the battery of corruption and money-laundering charges.

They want him cross-examined vigourously and if found guilty, the taxpayers expect the former PM to be behind bars as soon as possible. If not, he goes free.

That is why news that Shafee Abdullah has written to the court seeking to adjourn the first of many trials involving Najib is going to set off a firestorm.

No delay will be tolerated by a public that has been hoodwinked for years about 1MDB and still has to stomach the fantasy drivel dished out by Najib on a daily basis.

High court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali understands the interest of justice and public sentiment. That is why he wanted to begin hearing the case of money laundering, criminal breach of trust and abuse of power involving SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB, as early as last October.

But Shafee objected, citing a busy calendar and overseas travel.

So the judge set 43 days for the trial, beginning February 12.

Some of the cases involving Najib, businessman Low Taek Jho and others could be complex; involving hundreds of boxes of evidence and a long list of witnesses.

But the SRC case does not fall into the complex category, it is a low hanging fruit. The prosecution believe they will be able to prove easily that some RM42 million was siphoned from SRC and that Najib was a chief player in the scam.

That is why the government chose to make the SRC case the first against Najib. It was confident that it would be able to secure a conviction.

Shafee and his team have had a good six months to prepare Najib’s defence. During this time, they have baited the prosecution for their level of preparedness and have also attempted to disqualify Sulaiman Abdullah as the lead prosecutor.

And now less than a month before the start of the trial, the defence wants an adjournment.

It is hard to see the judge agreeing to this request, given the prevailing public sentiment surrounding a scandal that has brought down a couple of banks, set off investigation across continents and sullied the name of Malaysia.

Malaysians want Najib to have his day in court soon. They want to start drawing a line under this scandal. – January 17, 2019.

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Comments

  • Don't you even delay a single minute for this kleptocrat and co.

    Posted 7 years ago by Will Be Humble · Reply

  • A big fat yes! No delay! Put him in the dock!

    Posted 7 years ago by Awang Bilis · Reply

  • Agreed. No delay please.

    Posted 7 years ago by Mohammad Badry · Reply

  • No delay, please! In fact, bring it forward. Taxpayers interest is top priority.

    Posted 7 years ago by Leng Kapri As Saribasi · Reply

  • No delay please! Justice must be done!

    Posted 7 years ago by Leong Hong · Reply

  • No Delay No Reasons No Privileges No No Delays.

    Posted 7 years ago by Danial Abdullah · Reply