A FORMER Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir refuses to apologise for incarcerating more than a hundred innocent Malaysians during Operation Lalang in 1987.
Well, we can’t do much about that. Now we have another former PM, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who has only recently apologised for his culpability in the multi-billion 1MDB scandal.
Najib insisted that he was innocent and blamed fugitive businessman Jho Low and Petrosaudi executives for the debacle.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has welcomed the open apology made by Najib.
What are we to make of Najib’s apology? How do we determine if an apology is genuine or fake?
In the first place, an apology is fake when it does not match the following definition of "apology" offered by the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
"an admission of error or discourtesy accompanied by an expression of regret."
1. Why has it taken all this time for Najib to apologise?
The first charges were laid against Najib in July 2018, and he was subsequently sentenced to 12 years in jail and a fine of 210m ringgit on Aug 12, 2022.
Najib has been slapped with a total of 42 charges in several trials linked to 1MDB.
He is currently serving a reduced six-year sentence following a pardon after he was convicted of misappropriating RM42 million in funds belonging to SRC International.
Until recently, he never apologised for the misappropriation of 1MDB funds because he had claimed his innocence throughout the trial.
As we examine his “apology”, we will see that he still maintains he was misled:
“Being held legally responsible for the things that I did not initiate or knowingly enable is unfair to me and I hope and pray that the judicial process will, in the end, prove my innocence.”
2. An insincere apology blames someone else and does not take personal responsibility:
Najib denied being the mastermind or collaborating with fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, in the scheme:
“I am still in deep shock knowing now the extent of the wretched and unconscionable shenanigans and illegal things that happened in 1MDB…
“When I became suspicious about what was transpiring at 1MDB, my immediate concerns were its financial predicaments and the risk it posed to diplomatic and bilateral relations at the highest level.”
3. Fake apologies appear forced.
Najib’s apology comes six days before the High Court decides whether he is to enter his defence in the 1MDB corruption case that started five years ago and just after Anwar announced during his budget 2025 speech that his government will be introducing a law that will allow House arrest for miscreants.
In his “apology” press statement, the former PM Najib said he has already been punished politically over the affair and added that he “should not be victimised legally, too”.
Real apologies are voluntary, never forced.- October 28, 2024
Kua Kia Soong is a former MP and director of Suaram
