KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian courtrooms are no stranger to drama.
In 1993, it was said that Mona Fandey’s sensational murder trial led to the abolishment of our jury system and, in 1999, the nation was stunned when then deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stood trial for sodomy and corruption charges.
When Pakatan Harapan came into power in 2018, the courtrooms turned into a bigger media circus with the conviction of several high-profile politicians.
These court dramas spilled into 2020, with the judiciary once again coming into the limelight following the conviction of a former prime minister for corruption charges.
Najib Razak
One cannot review the happenings of Malaysia's judiciary without mentioning former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s conviction on July 28.
Najib was charged with seven counts of misappropriating RM42 million from 1Malaysia Development Bhd-linked company SRC International Sdn Bhd.
In delivering the guilty verdict, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali said prosecutors proved Najib’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, adding that Najib should have ensured the money was clean when he received it.
And, when sentencing him to 12 years in jail and RM210 million in fines, Nazlan said that the punishment was not only for the accused but to deter future offenders.
Riza Aziz
Najib was not the only one in his family to face criminal charges, as his stepson Riza Aziz was at risk of being found guilty of five counts of money-laundering involving US$248 million (RM1 billion) worth of 1MDB money.
If convicted, Riza could have faced at least five years' jail.
However, prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram applied for the court to discharge Riza on May 14.
It is understood that the charges were dropped after a deal was entered into between Riza and Attorney-General’s Chambers, for the former to return the laundered monies.
This move, of course, did not sit well with some.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad criticised the deal, saying Malaysia has never practised plea bargaining.
He added that, while some of the funds involved in the corruption charges would be returned, a big chunk would be kept by Riza.
After a 2012 amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code, plea bargains became part of Malaysia’s criminal justice system.
Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor
Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, who was federal territories minister in Najib's administration, has at least one thing in common with his former boss.
Ku Nan, as he is popularly known, also faced corruption charges in court.
Prosecutors alleged that he received a RM2 million bribe from a businessman in 2016, and was also charged with receiving another bribe from another businessman involving RM1 million.
However, for the latter charge, Ku Nan was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) on December 7, following a request from the prosecution, which said there were new developments that required investigations.
He was found guilty for the first charge on December 21 by justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan and sentenced to a 12-month jail term and fined RM2 million.
A day before his verdict, he hosted his daughter’s wedding in front of the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya.
Musa Aman
The year 2020 was far from quiet for former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman.
Not only did he help trigger a state election during a pandemic, he also faced 46 corruption charges.
The former leader was accused of entering into corrupt dealings with timber concessionaires in the state.
However, on June 9, the prosecution opted to withdraw all charges.
Musa’s lawyer, Francis Ng Aik Guan, had requested his client be fully acquitted, citing case files from the Independent Commission against Corruption of Hong Kong (ICAC).
According to investigations by the Hong Kong authorities, no crimes were found to have been committed by Musa.
This resulted in high court judge Muhammad Jamil Hussin granting the full acquittal.
What to watch out for next year
Legal drama is expected to continue as Najib and Tengku Adnan have filed appeals against their convictions in their respective cases.
This means that more drama will unfold at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court.
The sentences passed down to Ku Nan and Najib could either be maintained, reversed, made lighter or harsher.
Najib also has another four 1MDB trials to sit through.
The DNAA granted to Tengku Adnan and Riza also kept doors open for the prosecution to resurrect those charges.
Besides the trio, other high-profile cases will continue its time in court.
Najib’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, is facing 17 charges for laundering RM7 million and another two bribery charges. So far, 23 witnesses have been called, and the prosecution has closed its case.
The trial process is expected to continue next year.
Former finance minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng’s corruption trial is expected to begin in June.
According to the charge sheet, Lim is accused of seeking gratification for assisting a company to secure the Penang undersea tunnel project.
Additionally, another trial to look out for is former Perak state executive councillor Paul Yong’s rape case.
The Tronoh assemblyman is charged with raping his 23-year-old Indonesian maid at his house in Meru Desa Park last year.
Yong has been successful in his appeal to transfer his case from the sessions court to the Ipoh High Court. – The Vibes, December 29, 2020
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