Najib, who was convicted of all seven charges of corruption involving RM42 million belonging to 1MDB subsidiary SRC International, insisted he was in the dark over the money.
Addressing the court after mitigation by his lawyers, the former prime minister again took a religious oath or “sumpah laknat” to deny knowledge of the RM42 million
He also said he neither demanded the sum nor was he offered it.
“I have no knowledge of the RM42 million,” he told the High Court here.
Najib also cited his achievements during his nine-year tenure as the prime minister, including spurring economic growth and overseeing massive infrastructure development.
He also said companies like pilgrimage fund Tabung Haji and national petroleum company Petronas performed well under his administration.
Najib said his administration also abolished the Internal Security Act, which critics had previously labelled as draconian.
Earlier, during mitigation, Najib’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said his client had cooperated with authorities probing the case in 2015.
“In 2018, he continued to cooperate with police and MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) when Barisan Nasional fell (in the last general election) and investigations were resuscitated by the new government, despite the previous attorney-general clearing him of any wrongdoing,” he said.
Shafee noted that Najib was never even issued a traffic summons.
He also said Najib was not familiar with corporate matters and genuinely believed that the SRC board of directors would practice “due diligence” in performing their duties.
He said Najib was never involved in the running of the company.
“If he was at fault, he was only at fault in trusting people that ought to run the company. One can say he over-trusted them,” he said.
Shafee again reiterated that he was hampered in his mitigation, stressing that he did not have time to review today’s judgment.
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