[UPDATED] I solemnly swear I was not up to siphon SRC funds: Najib takes ‘sumpah laknat’

KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has taken a “sumpah laknat” (religious retributive oath) to solemnly swear that he did not know the RM42mil SRC International funds deposited into his personal account came from the company.

Following a “solat hajat” (special prayer held for specific requests) at the Masjid Jamek mosque in Kg Baru here this evening, Najib swore that he never published anything nor agreed to create SRC for the sake of embezzling funds for himself or his family.

Najib also swore that he never instructed any one of SRC’s directors or officials to siphon money into his personal account. 

“I have never held a cabinet meeting to gain approval for a RM4 billion loan from KWAP (Retirement Fund Incorporated) with the intention of obtaining ill-gotten gains amounting to the said RM42mil,” Najib said.

“If I am deceitful, then may I be condemned upon this oath and therefore I will accept God’s wrath.”

“If these all are merely lies planned by my political rivals, then dear God, I ask upon you to punish them as well as those who are complicit and colluding with them.”

Najib took the oath after giving a short speech to thank those who attended the prayer this evening.

He said the gathering was held so that justice would be served in his appeal on the SRC International case.

The Pekan MP also said he took the oath because he wanted to clear himself and his family from any wrongdoing regarding the SRC case.

Najib, who arrived at the mosque at about 8.30pm, was joined by 500 other worshippers, including his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, his son Mohd Norashman, and Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan. 

Not the first time

This is the fourth time that Najib has been known to take such religious oaths.

On December 20, 2019, he swore at the same mosque in Kg Baru, denying allegations that he was involved in the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu 13 years before.

He declared that he had never seen Altantuya and denied all allegations on the matter made by former special task force officer Azilah Hadri in a statutory declaration.

On February 3 last year, he swore to deny that he had instructed anyone to transfer RM42 million from SRC International’s coffers into his bank accounts.

He said this while uttering the relevant Arabic religious phrase during re-examination by his lawyer Farhan Read, who had asked him to explain his denial that he had instructed former SRC International CEO Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil to transfer the money into his personal account. 

Then, on December 8 last year, Najib again swore religiously during an online media conference that he was innocent of the charges in relation to the SRC trial.

On July 28, 2020, high court judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali sentenced Najib to 12 years in jail and fined him RM210 million after he was found guilty of misappropriating RM42 million belonging to SRC.

The Court of Appeal upheld Najib’s conviction on December 8 last year.

The hearing for his final appeal is expected to conclude on August 26, following which the apex court is expected to make a decision a few months later. – The Vibes, August 21, 2022