THE praises heaped upon Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and her fellow Federal Court judges on their handling of Najib Razak’s criminal appeal were not misplaced. They could have rendered a very different verdict.

Imagine if the chief justice had been that character who was caught holidaying in New Zealand with a member of the defence Bar (I wonder who picked up their tab!), or the former Umno legal adviser who perjured himself by hiding his secret second marriage in southern Thailand. Worse, remember that infamous lawyer whose VVIP clients at the time included then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad? That attorney was caught on videotape uttering “Correct! Correct! Correct!” on the phone.

The party at the other end was a senior judge, later to become chief justice. They were trying to fix an upcoming case.

Then consider had the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission still been under Dzulkifli Ahmad, the ilk caught holidaying in Bali with someone other than his wife. Personal morality aside, this was the same idiot who later tipped Najib of the then ongoing 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) criminal investigation. It was unfortunate for both but lucky for Malaysians that their phone conversation was tapped and later released by Latheefa Koya, Dzulkifli’s successor.

Dzulkifli was confused on whether he was on the nation’s or Najib’s payroll. Dzulkifli was not alone in being confused. Witness the many court testimonies of other civil servants. Former chief secretary to the government Mohd Sidek Hassan was paid more than his official salary to be on the 1MDB board to “do nothing.”

Likewise, had the prosecution been led by career civil-servant “Kami menurut perintah” (We follow orders!) lawyers, the outcome would also have been very different. There is more! If that third-rate former Umno lawyer Mohamed Apandi Ali had remained as attorney-general, Najib would not have faced any charges. Najib would today be hailed as a national hero, with the Agong feting and decorating him on a garish obscene scale as only a Malay sultan could.

There are many honest, dedicated and competent civil servants, but those are not the ones being promoted. Instead we have the likes of Dzulkifli and Sidek reaching the top. I am also aware that there were many brave civil servants who literally paid with their lives for their integrity. Remember the late deputy public prosecutor Kevin Morais?

Those aside, the tipping point that led to the unmasking of Najib’s sinister nature and egregious greed was voters’ denying his Umno-led Barisan Nasional coalition victory in the 2018 national election. Prior to that, BN and its earlier Alliance coalition had suffered only two major but not power-shifting electoral setbacks.

The first was in 1969 when the Alliance failed to secure a supra-majority of parliamentary seats, and polled less than half of the popular votes. That setback triggered a race riot that nearly tore the nation apart.

The second was in 2008, also with a loss of its supra-majority. That resulted in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s resignation and Najib’s ascendancy to the top slot.

As for Najib, he had a near-death political experience in the 1999 election, barely holding on to his long-held Pekan seat, which he had won with more than a 10,000-vote majority in the previous election. In that 1999 contest he scraped through with a threadbare 241-vote majority, rescued at the last minute by “mail ballots” from the nearby army base.

The 2018 general election was a game changer. Unlike the Nigerians and Pakistanis, Malaysians were finally disgusted with their leaders and voted out the corrupt Umno-led coalition. The new administration, though brief, nonetheless triggered the subsequent cascading events that led to Najib’s incarceration.

As such, praises for Najib’s final conviction should go to the Malaysian electorate. That is the key lesson for the next election. The most powerful instrument in getting rid of corruption is for voters to know where to put the “X” on their ballot.

Had Malaysians been similarly wise in 1999 and booted out the Dr Mahathir-led coalition, they would have uncovered similar egregious corruptions and gross mismanagement of the past. Think of London Tin, the massive forex losses, and Bank Bumiputra bankruptcy, among others. Then remember the gruesome murder of the bank’s auditor, Jalil Ibrahim.

With Najib, there were the model Altantuya Shaariibuu, banker Hussain Ahmad Najadi, and prosecutor Kevin Morais.

Had a similar tough scrutiny been done back then, Malaysia would have been spared the later 1MDB and other boondoggles. The nation jailed the wrong leader following the 1999 election.

Najib is Dr Mahathir’s political son. Najib would not have risen so early and so fast had it not been for Dr Mahathir. He was also instrumental in Najib replacing Abdullah in 2009. Dr Mahathir greasing Najib’s path was in the old Malay tradition of berbalas budi (reciprocating a debt of gratitude). Earlier, Najib’s father Abdul Razak Hussein had resurrected Dr Mahathir when the latter was in the political wilderness following his expulsion from Umno back in 1970.

Come the next election Malaysians must again repeat the 2018 lesson and boot out the Dr Mahathir-controlled coalition as well as the Umno-led one. Only then, can the nation do a similar much needed – albeit delayed – scrutiny of Dr Mahathir’s many outrageous follies.

Today the old man is strutting around pontificating on Najib’s sins while remaining blissfully ignorant of his own massive ones. Voters must disabuse him of his delusion. There is no statute of limitation to the crime of plundering the nation. Dr Mahathir should be investigated with the same vigour as Najib, for only then would justice be done.

Regardless whether such investigations be undertaken, one fact remains glaring and indisputable. In being directly responsible for Najib becoming prime minister, Dr Mahathir had inflicted the greatest damage on the nation. You cannot put a price tag on that colossal blunder. – August 31, 2022.

* M. Bakri Musa 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.