FORMER prime minister Najib Razak’s imprisonment won’t rid Umno of corruption, Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

The Langkawi MP said that Umno is now rotten from top to bottom and no longer subscribes to the party’s fundamental principles.

“Najib’s imprisonment will not cleanse Umno. The Umno culture is not the same as when it was first founded,” he said in a statement posted on his Facebook page.

“This is why Umno must be defeated and replaced by a Malay party that holds strong to the principles of the Malay race, religion and nation.”

The Pejuang chairman also called out Umno leaders who are in denial that Najib was given a fair trial.

“This is about someone who was on trial for four years by three courts and nine judges. All the judges agreed that Najib was guilty.

“What’s not fair is that Najib tried to cover up the elephant in the room by dismissing those who investigated the 1Malaysia Development Bhd case,” he said.

Former attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail was replaced in the midst of the 1MDB investigations, he said.

Dr Mahathir said even the Public Accounts Committee chairman was replaced by a Najib confidant at the time.

Two weeks ago, a five-man Federal Court bench chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat quashed his appeal and upheld his sentence in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.

The apex court ordered him to begin his 12-year jail sentence immediately.

In addition to this, Najib will have to pay a RM210 million fine in default of another five years of imprisonment.

Yesterday, Najib filed for a royal pardon. – September 6, 2022.