The Curse Of Being A Malaysian Pm

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What will it take for the convicted felon, Najib Abdul Razak, to realise that once he has been convicted of a crime, he must serve his time?
No one is above the law and he should know that even former prime ministers of Malaysia are not entitled to special treatment, especially one who has been charged, tried, and sentenced in a court of law.
This is the trouble with former prime ministers who like to imagine they are above the law, or perhaps, that they can do no wrong.
Najib may be behind bars in Kajang Prison, and yet, his name may as well be emblazoned in neon lights. For the past few weeks, all we hear about is the “royal addendum”, his “house arrest”, or his “full pardon”. Not just in the media, both mainstream and online, but also on social media.
When he keeps mentioning the royal addendum, he brings the royals into disrepute because members of the rakyat will wonder why the royalty is interfering in the judicial process.
Najib does not care if other people’s reputations are tarnished because he has nothing to lose. All he cares about is his freedom.
Istana NegaraHe wants us to doubt the meaning of a constitutional monarchy in which he knows that the powers of the monarch are limited by the Federal Constitution.
The king and his royal brothers are there to protect the interests of the rakyat. So, why is Najib driving a wedge between the rakyat and the royals?
Some people claim that the Madani government has acted as if it has been muzzled, and badly mismanaged the royal addendum saga, thus enabling Najib to crow non-stop about his house arrest. The administration must work harder to bolster its image before the rakyat is further disillusioned.
Members of the opposition are taking full advantage of Najib gloating in public about his royal addendum and house arrest. Will the Madani administration stop them from undermining the government?
Like night follows day, many Malaysians fear that a full pardon will possibly follow the move to allow a house arrest. They strongly believe this will happen especially after the unexpected reduction in his sentence.
Najib has been through three courts. The High Court, the Appeals Court, and the Federal Court. He was tried by nine judges. The apology which he offered, years after his sentencing, was made almost as an afterthought and sounded most insincere.
Palace of Justice, PutrajayaThe rakyat was shocked by last year’s reduction in his sentence and the discounted fine. They worry about the two-tiered system of justice in the nation. They compare people who were jailed after stealing food to feed their families with Najib who stole billions of ringgit, not to feed his family, but to satisfy his and his family’s greed.
We are aware that when the Pardons Boards for the various states meet and consider the appeals of prisoners, their decisions are not announced in the media. The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa has confirmed that decisions are never made public as they are confidential.
We also understand, perhaps rightly or wrongly, that when prisoner appeals are submitted to the Pardons Board, the applicants would naturally be told whether their appeals have either been denied or approved.
However, Najib’s appeal is mired in controversy. If he was given house arrest or a pardon, the whole nation would be horrified. The reduction in his sentence and discount for his fines has already angered us.
Why are the authorities lenient with Najib? He dominates the media at a time when we want to hear Putrajaya discuss important things about Malaysia, like the protection of children and young women, ways to combat rising crime, the failures and corruption of Puspakom which we’ve known about for decades, the environmental degradation, flood mitigation measures, the healthcare system, and cost of living crisis.
Master manipulator
Don’t ignore Najib’s seven-minute video which he made a week after his conviction. He claimed that the SRC International money had been used for Umno-Baru’s “welfare programmes” and “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) initiatives for orphans. Apparently, none had been used for himself.
Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he? Prisons are full of people who claim to be innocent.
These welfare programmes were not mentioned during his trial, the witnesses failed to mention these welfare programmes, and he omitted to mention the orphans.
Najib is not just a common thief who stole the rakyat’s money, he is also a liar and a desperate one, who is still trying to convince his gullible supporters, that he is innocent of all the charges.
Najib supportersHe is a convicted felon and he should be left to serve his sentence. He should not be allowed house arrest or further reductions of his fine and sentencing.
On the day Najib was convicted of all seven charges, for abuse of power, money laundering, and criminal breach of trust, a succession of Umno-Baru leaders expressed their sympathy for the convicted criminal.
Where was their sympathy for the rakyat?
Despite overwhelming evidence from overseas supplied by governments and financial institutions, Najib continued to be economical with the truth about 1MDB.
Najib appears to wield more power now than some ministers in Putrajaya. He is a master manipulator and good at controlling people.
The Madani administration should stop him from issuing statements from Kajang. - Mkini
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and the president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, X.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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