KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s political rivals have lauded the Federal Court’s decision to uphold the disgraced former prime minister’s guilty verdict in his SRC International corruption case.
Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin highlighted that his and the public’s struggle against corruption had finally brought results.
Muhyiddin said he had never been deterred from upholding the truth, despite being removed from his previous senior positions in the government and Umno.
“I have raised concerns on the abuse of power and corruption, misappropriation of 1MDB and SRC International funds involving the former prime minister, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak, since 2015.
“It (the decision) has proven that our country’s independent judicial system has been able to guarantee justice and restore the dignity of the country that has been scratched.”
The Federal Court upheld the high court’s decision to convict Najib of all seven charges in the SRC International corruption case, as well as the 12-year prison sentence meted out.
The apex court also upheld the conviction for the former prime minister to pay the RM210 million fine imposed by the high court.
A five-member bench chaired by chief justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said the findings of the high court were correct and the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt.
Muhyiddin also said the decision this afternoon was not the end of the fight against corruption in Malaysia.
He also hoped for the judiciary to remain protected from any political interference.
Meanwhile, DAP social media bureau chairman Syahredzan Johan believed the court’s decision today reflected improvements in the judicial institutions.
“Just see how diverse the panel is today, and that in itself will show how far we have come. I am not going to do it, but you can compare it to another high-profile case(s) before this,” he said.
Seeing some hot takes comparing today’s decision with previous high profile decisions.
— Syahredzan Johan (@syahredzan) August 23, 2022
Here’s the thing: the judiciary had changed much since then. Not just based on this decision, but many, many other decisions.
Changed, many say, for the better.
DAP’s Ketari assemblyman Young Syefura Othman asserted that Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) victory in the 2018 elections (GE14) helped change the country’s political landscape.
“If PH had not won GE14 in May 2018, today would not have come true,” she tweeted.
She also stressed that the public’s vote was essential in determining the future and administration of the country.
Another opposition politician, Pejuang’s Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, also celebrated the court’s decision.
“Justice at last! Justice at last! God Almighty, justice at last!”, he tweeted. – The Vibes, August 23, 2022
Justice at last! Justice at last! God Almighty, justice at last!
— Mukhriz Mahathir (@MukhrizMahathir) August 23, 2022
