Ahead of the 15th General Elections (GE15), the local social media space has been flooded with talk of political intrigue. While some of these claims could be true, there are also slanders and accusations.
Recently, there has been a claim that the disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak would be freed immediately from prison should his coalition, Barisan Nasional wins the GE15 on 19 November.
Responding to such claims, Najib expressed his disappointment that the Opposition is still using his name for ‘baseless political propaganda’ despite his imprisonment.
In a statement through his legal representatives Shafee & Co, Najib rubbished such claims and said that he wishes to get acquitted through the judicial process of the courts as he does not only want to secure his liberty but also his legacy and integrity.
“Our client wishes to categorically deny these allegations. Our client has consistently maintained since the commencement of his trials in 2018 that he wishes to get acquitted through the judicial process of the courts because not only does he want to secure his liberty, but also his legacy and integrity,” the statement reads.
“He is confident that his best chance of being released from prison is via the upcoming review application filed pursuant to Rule 137 of the Rules of the Federal Court 1995.”
Review application in process
Shafee then said that Najib’s review application is based on the basis that the process and decisions made by the Federal Court during his appeal constituted a depravation of Najib’s constitutional rights to a fair hearing.
He added that he was not given enough time to prepare for the appeal hearing, which resulted in them not being able to present arguments for the defence, thus leaving Najib without any effective defense representative in court.
“If the application for review is in his favour, our client shall seek a re-trial under a fair and just process to prove his innocence where he will be at liberty to present his case inclusive of the application to introduce facts and information that were previously not made available to the defence at the trial,” Shafee said.
Nonetheless, Shafee said Najib has continued to maintain his innocence and urged the Opposition to not tarnish his reputation with unfounded propaganda.
Najib is currently serving his 12-year jail sentence in Kajang Prison for his involvement in the SRC International corruption scandal. He was also slapped with a fine of RM210 million for misappropriating SRC International Sdn Bhd funds amounting to RM42 million.
