What Najib’s conviction does and doesn’t mean

I imagine the more popular columns this week will be about how the Najib Razak verdict is a glorious, triumphant victory for Malaysia - full of cathartic jubilation surrounding the rakyat’s victory against corruption.

I’m not one to pour cold water over any of that. It is indeed a significant victory.

I’ll leave it to better writers than me to sing those songs of triumph.

Over the longer term jihad however, I try my best to look at the battles ahead, rather than the ones behind.

So, Najib goes to jail. What does this mean? What does it not mean?.

Firstly, I think we have not overstated the significance of a former Malaysian Prime Minister being jailed for corruption.

This development is similar to the fall of Barisan Nasional in 2018 - as long as it has never happened before, people will always be uncertain whether it can actually happen.

Once it has happened, an important psychological barrier is crossed.

One question we should perhaps ask ourselves however, especially when thinking about future deterrence (which is a large part of the concept of law and law enforcement), is: What is the key takeaway for people who might commit similar crimes in the future?.

Ideally, the key takeaway should be: I shouldn’t be involved in corruption, because as we can now see, people who do so get punished.

My concern however, is that people in Najib’s line of work may make their takeaway be more like: In order to make lots of money through corruption and not get punished, I better not lose any elections.

After all, we must note that the big man being sent to prison is in some ways at least a major competitor - and possibly an outright enemy - of the people currently in power.

Many of Najib’s supporters are screaming that he is a victim of political persecution.

I believe that if you do the crime you should do the time.

That said, given where all the pieces are standing on the board, can we say with 100% absolute certainty that there is absolutely zero element of this conviction serving the political interests of the current powers that be?.

Again, I’m not purposely trying to throw cold water or rain on any parade - there’s nothing wrong with feeling that this is, on aggregate, certainly a good development for the country.

It may just also be wise to be circumspect and contextualise what has happened as accurately as possible.

This conviction could be a sign that our institutions are strengthening; it could also be a sign that Malaysia simply will not tolerate certain levels of corruption.

An objective analysis suggests however, that it could also mean that the judiciary continues to deliver judgements that align with the interests of the current executive.

I also saw a number of comments saying that this is the result of voting BN out in 2018. I am a little ambivalent about this perspective.

On the one hand, it is indeed good that when things get too bad, the ballot box remains an avenue to force change.

On the other hand, we of course still have a long way to go before reaching a more ideal state, in which criminals face true justice, regardless of who is voted in and out of power.

Put another way, it may be wiser to focus on the improvement of key democratic institutions (especially those tasked with providing proper check and balance) than it is to think that our weapon of choice for fixing democracy is voting in one group of people or another.

I’m not generally crazy about using fear as a deterrent, but when it comes to preventing corruption, of course it’s nice if people who might be tempted to engage in corruption do have a healthy fear of law enforcement.

The question is, will Najib’s conviction inspire that kind of fear?.

I worry that the answer that many will takeaway from this is: I will get caught only if I get voted out.

If that is the takeaway, then instead of being too afraid to become corrupt, the mindset will simply shift to: I can be as corrupt as I like, as long as I’m smart enough not to get voted out, or become enemies with the next government.

For the time being, it looks a little bit like the final decision still came as a little bit of a shock for many in Umno.

Most likely, however "mentally prepared" they were in some ways, they were also blinded a little by the aforementioned psychological barrier.

I have a feeling many in the party will see this is a declaration of war in many ways, and would not be surprised if all manners of repercussions and retaliations are being planned.

There were many people celebrating Najib being put in prison - some very smugly as well.

I can understand why. That said, I found it quite difficult to do the same.

As an important prelude to the following, it of course matters a lot exactly what kind of treatment Najib will get in prison.

This one is quite a tough question. On the one hand, of course there would be an element of injustice if Najib is allowed better conditions than other prisoners.

After all, what would the justification for such treatment be?.

On the other hand, something tells me that much fewer people would object to say, Anwar Ibrahim receiving some extra comforts and special treatment while in prison.

I haven’t seen any reliable news yet about the exact conditions Najib will be held in, but this is a question worth pondering.

The reason I found myself hard-pressed to "celebrate" was that having spent a few nights in lockup myself (which is different from prison proper, but bears some similarities), it is not a thing I lightly wish upon others.

This sentencing is a useful opportunity to think about prison conditions more generally.

I once read a long thread on the internet about the conditions of Sungai Buloh prison, and have never been able to forget its contents. (https://www.reddit.com/r/malaysia/comments/sousc6/ama_spent_a_few_months_in_sg_buloh_prison_here/).

I fervently hope you will take the time to look at the thread, and read firsthand accounts of what life in prison is really like for someone with no special connections or status.

Put in short, the conditions are subhuman. Prisoners are often treated as subhuman.

Prisons and immigration detention centers are again different, but again bear some similarities.

Reading about how we treat detainees made me completely unsurprised to read about the riot at the immigration detention centre in Penang back in April.

It made complete sense that people would rather risk their lives in a riot, than endure the kind of conditions we subject detainees to.

There’s nothing wrong in celebrating positive developments for the country. Hopefully, we will at the same time keep in mind the many, many battles still ahead, before we become a democracy to be truly proud of.

How we treat detainees reveals a lot about who we are as a nation; hopefully this will be an added opportunity to take a good look at this issue.

There’s nothing wrong in celebrating positive developments for the country.

Hopefully, we will at the same time keep in mind the many, many battles still ahead, before we become a democracy to be truly proud of.

NATHANIEL TAN works with Projek #BangsaMalaysia. Twitter: @NatAsasi, Email: [email protected]. #BangsaMalaysia #NextGenDemocracy.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Sinar Daily.