KUALA LUMPUR – Police will be questioning supporters of imprisoned former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who staged a gathering at Istana Negara here yesterday.
In a brief statement, Brickfields district police chief Amihizam Abdul Shukor said that the assembly organisers had not presented any application to hold the gathering, which they said was attended by around 300 people.
He added that police will open investigation papers on the matter and call in event organisers to record their statements.
“Brickfields police would like to advise the people to be wary of actions or speeches that might threaten public peace in the country, especially in the city centre,” he said, urging the people to obtain proper approval before holding large gatherings.
Yesterday, non-governmental organisation Pertubuhan Jalinan Perpaduan Negara Malaysia had submitted a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to seek royal intervention in Najib’s corruption conviction.
Group president Syed Mohammad Imran Syed Abdul Aziz insisted that the pardon application must come from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the royal pardon must be granted now through the king.
Together with the group were some 300 individuals who gathered outside the palace to express their solidarity with Najib, who is now in prison serving a 12-year sentence after the Federal Court upheld his SRC International Bhd conviction on Tuesday.
The majority of the supporters were decked in black clothes and arrived at the gathering by motorcycle, causing a massive traffic jam along much of Jalan Sri Hartamas 1 all the way to government offices near Jalan Duta.
On Tuesday, Najib became the first former Malaysian prime minister to serve jail time, following the apex court’s decision to uphold the high court’s previous ruling that Najib was guilty of all seven charges in his case.
The five-member bench chaired by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat upheld the court decision on Najib’s conviction of all seven charges in the SRC International Bhd case and his 12-year prison sentence. – The Vibes, August 25, 2022