Najib Razak loses latest 1MDB scandal appeal after evidence ‘overwhelmingly points to guilt’

Chief Justice Maimun Tuan Mat said the evidence shown overwhelmingly pointed to guilt on all seven charges. “Therefore, these appeals are unanimously dismissed and the conviction and sentence are affirmed,” she said at the five-judge panel’s sentencing.

Lawyers representing Najib requested a stay of execution, which was rejected by the chief justice.

Najib was impassive when the verdict was read and his wife and two children immediately took his side in court. He had earlier urged the bench to give his defense more time to prepare so he could have his day in court.

“The result of what I want is just a 2-month postponement of the hearing of the appeal, instead of my life and liberty being cut short by 12 years of imprisonment,” he said.

Najib was first convicted in July 2020 on charges of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust related to the SRC case. The sentence, which includes a 210 million ringgit fine in addition to jail time, was upheld by the Court of Appeal in December, with a judge calling Najib’s actions a “national shame”.

He filed a final appeal in the Federal Court while out on bail. Najib pleaded not guilty to all charges and publicly declared his innocence, saying he was a “victim of fraud”.

Despite successive court rulings against him, Najib has successfully rehabilitated his image since his shock election defeat in 2018 by criticizing the economic policies of successive governments and recasting himself as a man of the people.

These tactics helped him maintain considerable influence in the United Malay National Organization. Najib had led UMNO to a string of state election victories, encouraging the party to push for early national elections.

grief

The verdict against Najib will bring a sense of anguish to his supporters and could spur UMNO to rally its supporters for the federal election, said Bridget Welsh, an emeritus research fellow at the University of Nottingham Malaysia’s Asia Research Institute.

“It also opens the way for new leadership, and I think that’s part of what’s happening in terms of this period of political transition,” Welsh said, referring to the party. “It will be very difficult in the short term for Najib to have as much political power as he has.”

The former leader may eventually be released from prison by seeking a pardon from Malaysia’s king, the same way current opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim received one in 2018.

Malaysia’s longest-serving leader, Mahathir Mohamad, said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Monday that he sees a “50-50 chance” that Najib will receive a royal pardon, return to politics and once again seek the country’s highest office.

Najib’s legal team is discussing the possibility of a judicial review of the final decision, although legal experts said this may not succeed because the entire appeals process has been exhausted.

“We are very sad because we lost the appeal,” Najib’s lead lawyer Teh Poh Teik told reporters after the verdict. “I will only say that we seek comfort and consolation – in the words of a great Indian jurist who said that only the Almighty can dispense perfect justice.”