PUTRAJAYA – The government will not interfere with the high court’s decision to acquit and free former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of charges of tampering with the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) audit report, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said.
Fahmi, who is the unity government’s spokesman, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has repeatedly stressed that he and his administration would never interfere with court matters.
“The decision is a legal process that must be respected,” he said at the post-cabinet meeting media conference here today as he commented on netizens who questioned the court’s decision and claimed that there was government interference.
The high court had earlier acquitted and freed Najib, along with former 1MDB chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy of tampering charges after the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case against both of them.
On his previous suggestion of establishing a special committee regarding the 1MDB scandal, Fahmi said the need for it would be examined if it could be an important mechanism to speed up the repatriation of embezzled funds.
Fahmi said even though the establishment of the committee had yet to be discussed, various agencies have been trying to reclaim 1MDB’s funds have borne fruit, including agreements by International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and Aabar Investments PJS (Aabar PJS) to pay US$1.8 billion (around RM8.06 billion) to Minister of Finance Incorporated (MoF Inc) and 1MDB.
“For now, the matter (establishment) has not been discussed by the cabinet and the process of reclaiming the funds is ongoing, along with several matters that have been identified in an effort to return public funds,” he said.
MoF Inc and 1MDB were reported to have come to a solution regarding their dispute with IPIC and Aabar PJS about legal proceedings at the London International Arbitration Court and the London High Court. – Bernama, March 3, 2023
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