ON March 22, the Court of Appeal judges Has Zanah Mehat, Nordin Hassan, and Hashim Hamzah in a unanimous decision enhanced the sentence on a senior police officer from four years to 10 years in jail and fined him RM42 million on eight charges of money laundering involving RM3.35 million.

Nordin was quoted to have said that since the senior police officer’s salary was only RM6,000 per month, there was no way he could accumulated the RM1.27 milion and 8,178,000 rupiah found in his home.

In early 2019, during the criminal breach of trust trial of former prime minister Najib Razak over RM42 million of SRC International’s money, the prosecution also queried the deputy chief accountant Zarina Yusuf in the Prime Minister’s Department. She confirmed that,
Najib collected a monthly salary of RM18,168.15 from January to April 2009 when he was deputy prime minister.

After he became prime minister in May 2009, his basic salary increased to RM22,826.65.

The salaries were deposited into Najib’s account at Affin Bank, account number 10040014008

In addition to the above, parliament administrative officer Farah Nurdiana Azhar, confirmed that  from January 2011 to December 2014, Najib received a monthly salary of RM10,355.18 which increased to RM19,000 in January 2015 to March 2018 for his role as a lawmaker.

This meant that Najib’s total monthly salaries from 2009 to 2018 came up to about RM78,000.

1MDB’s former CEO even confirmed that 1MDB directors had signed to “confirm and approve the payment of remuneration” to Najib in the form of RM120,000 yearly as chairman of the board and a separate sum of RM96,000 yearly as member of the board, again effectively paying him a yearly sum of approximately RM216,000.

Najib was first elected as an MP in 1976. He was appointed a deputy minister the same year and became the menteri besar of Pahang from 1982 to 1986.

From 1987, he variously held ministerial portfolios for defence, education, culture, youth and sports, and finally finance before becoming the prime minister in 2009.

Generously assuming that Najib was drawing a monthly salary of RM78,000 from the day he became an MP, his total savings still could not have reached RM40 million by the time the money was found in his AmBank account in 2016.

The former AmBank relationship manager even testified that Najib’s accounts at the bank were often overdrawn.

It was obvious there is no possibility that Najib could have accumulated RM42 million in his bank accounts.

In the senior police officer’s case which involved a sum of RM3.35 million, the Court of Appeal unanimously enhanced the sentence and fine imposed by the High Court.

It does make the people wonder about the difference between a former prime minister and a senior police officer than in rank and terms of employment. – April 5, 2022.

* FLK reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.