GIVING a free premium plot of land to Najib Razak who has been convicted of graft and abuse of power would set a bad precedent in the country, civil society groups said.

They said that Putrajaya should just reject Najib’s request for the property worth RM100 million as part of the privileges accorded to a former prime minister.

They also hit out at Najib for making such a request when he was still facing a string of criminal cases.

Najib, however, said he would revoke his application for the land following public criticism.

“I understand the difficult times faced by the people. The nation’s priority should be the people.

“As this issue has created an uncomfortable atmosphere, I suggested to the prime minister to look into it and withdraw the allocation,” he told a press conference in Malacca.

Yesterday, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz told the Dewan Rakyat that the cabinet received an application from Najib to obtain a property worth RM100 million in Kuala Lumpur.

The news sent shock waves to Malaysians who criticised Najib for having the audacity to make such a request after the Pekan MP was convicted of seven counts of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power involving RM42 million in funds from former 1MDB unit SRC International.

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) executive director Sevan Doraisamy slammed Putrajaya for not disclosing the matter earlier.

He added the government should have just rejected it when the request was made.

“He has no shame at all after what had happened to this country.

“The government should not have paid any attention to his request and should have made it public. The people are suffering economically and it is the government’s job to ensure the welfare of its people,” he said.

Sevan criticised Putrajaya of “playing politics”.

“As if this is a non-issue for Putrajaya. Clearly there are double standards.

“Poor people who are caught stealing go to jail but an ex-PM who has been found guilty is still being taken care of,” he shrugged.

A news portal reported recently that Najib was said to have made the request based on the practice that the government of the day is expected to reward its predecessors for their service and contributions.

Tengku Zafrul had said the cabinet received Najib’s request after Budget 2022 was tabled. The finance minister, however, did not confirm if it was approved and later said that the application was not yet finalised and that it would be brought forth as a supplementary budget next year.

Meanwhile, G25 spokesperson Noor Farida Ariffin did not mince her words when commenting on the matter.

“His greed is unbelievable! We are all waiting to see him residing in Sg Buloh prison,” she said.

The former diplomat said she was outraged upon hearing the news of Najib’s request.

‘“I’m totally outraged that this kleptomaniac who has been convicted of stealing billions from the rakyat, should have the cheek to request RM100 million of taxpayers’ money.

“How many houses does this klepto need?! Does he realise that many of his fellow Malaysians are homeless and sleeping on the streets,” said Farida.

Wrong signal

Dr Muhammad Mohan of Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) advised Najib to postpone his request until he is free from all of his court cases.

He agreed that such a request will only cause the public to get even more angry.

“Although he has the right to make such a request because he is an ex-PM, he still has his cases and he has been found guilty. It is best for him to hold off this request.

“Morally this is the best thing that he can do. Until he is free from the cases, the government must not approve his request.

“If the government accepts, people will be angry. It is not easy to find RM100 today, what more RM100 million. This will send a wrong signal to the world that we are not serious in combating corruption,” he added.

Najib, who was the country’s sixth prime minister, is also currently on trial for 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering involving RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds.

In defending his action, Najib said has not done anything wrong in asking the government to allocate him a piece of land as part of the privileges of a former prime minister.

He said the land that he has sought is not valued at RM100 million as was reported in a news portal.  

He said it was Dr Mahathir Mohamad who had amended the law during his first tenure as the prime minister to allow special privileges and allowances to former prime ministers, including the ownership of properties and land belonging to the government. – November 19, 2021.