Najib fell to his chair, Rosmah in tears as Federal Court upholds ex-PM's SRC conviction
ROZAID RAHMAN AND NOOR AZLIDA ALIMIN
PUTRAJAYA - A standing Datuk Seri Najib Razak fell to his seat in the dock upon hearing the Federal Court’s that the High Court judge did not err in sentencing him to 12 years in prison and a fine of RM210 million in relations to the embezzlement case of SRC International Sdn Bhd.
His wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor meanwhile was seen wiping her tears as she held back her emotions; full of sadness and sorrow.
The court’s atmosphere, filled with Najib’s family and staff turned even more gloomy when Rosmah sat next to him accompanied by their children Norashaman and Nooryana Najwa.
These were their final moments with their loved one, before he - Najib - was taken away in a black SUV that had been on standby mode behind the Palace of Justice in Presint 2, Putrajaya.
However, the irony here was the fact that not far from the Palace of Justice was the beautiful Seri Perdana and Perdana Putra, Najib’s home and office when he was the country’s number one for about nine years.
These were also the places fated to witness historical events happen, including the SRC International and 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, the biggest money heist in the world.
An hour has past since the ruling, Najib’s family, friends and supporters continued to stay in the court grounds.
They could only calm the Pekan Member of Parliament down as sadness engulfed him. Despite losing all his rights and freedom as a free man, he remained cool and composed at the time.
At 530pm when this commentary was being written, 69-year old Najib was present in court in black suit did not move from the dock. What was certain, however, was the fact that a former Prime Minister would be sent to Kajang Prison.
There, Najib will have to serve a 12-year prison sentence. Additionally, if he fails to settle the RM210 million fine, he would need to face another five years of incarceration.
Many believe Najib’s family and hardcore supporters including those who had gone out to the court grounds to cry their hearts out publicly after the decision would try their best to settle the fine.
Also present in the courtroom was his strongest and loyal supporter Umno President Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. He sat at the public gallery and watched the ruling.
The Umno President can now imagine a similar atmosphere once his turn comes, if he too were to be found guilty at the Kuala Lumpur High Court for his charges.
Zahid is currently on trial for 12 charges of abuse of power, eight bribery charges and 27 money laundering charges involving ten of millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akal Budi, a charity foundation he established.
On Jan 24, the court made the ruling after finding that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against Zahid and ordered him to enter defence.
Amidst all the chaos that was happening, Najib’s daughter nicknamed Yana wrote “I’m sorry daddy... Maybe we didn’t fight hard enough. Maybe we placed our fullest trust in our justice system...”
The Federal Court on Tuesday stated that Najib’s defence were inconsistent and failed to raise reasonable doubt. While reading the verdict, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said High Court Judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali had considered the defence’s explanation in detail and carried out an analysis on the case.
She said the court could not conclude anywhere that Mohd Nazlan and the Court of Appeal were wrong. She, who chaired a five-man panel, said the defendant's defence was completely inconsistent and diametrically opposed to one another.
