KUALA LUMPUR – Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan has denied a news report alleging his view that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should go to jail for his supposed part in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
Mohamad clarified that Najib, like any other Malaysian, is accorded rights to be judged fairly within the justice system and must go through the process to prove his innocence.
“That is inaccurate. What I said was that Najib must get a fair trial.
“If he is found guilty, then he is guilty, but he must be judged fairly,” he said in a brief response to The Vibes.
Earlier today, Asia Times published their interview with Mohamad, who claimed that the root of the nation’s troubling financial situation stemmed from his party, primarily under the tenure of Najib as president, failing to “tell the truth” on 1MDB.
In the interview, Mohamad, fondly known as Tok Mat, further said that Najib should not expect special treatment if he is convicted.
“The court is the place where you can prove whether you’re innocent or not. He didn’t prove it. He couldn’t prove it.
“Everybody has to pay their dues. But if we want to pardon, he (Najib) has to go through the process.
“He’ll have to go inside first,” Mohamad apparently said in the interview.
In further clarification to The Vibes, Mohamad said he was merely explaining the pardon process in general rather than outright stating that Najib should be incarcerated.
“I was merely explaining the pardon process, which usually happens after a conviction,” he said.
Currently, Najib is undergoing trial over the misappropriation of more than RM2 billion of 1MDB funds.
He is also accused, in a separate trial, of giving instructions to amend the final draft of the Auditor-General’s report on 1MDB that was supposed to be presented to the Public Accounts Committee between February 22 and 26, 2016.
On July 28, 2020, Najib was found guilty by the high court for all seven charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering in relation to RM42 million belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd.
The Court of Appeal, on December 8 last year, also unanimously upheld Najib’s conviction, fine and jail sentence.
Najib is now appealing the verdict at the Federal Court on his SRC conviction, which is scheduled for hearing in August. – The Vibes, July 5, 2022
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