First former Prime Minister in the history of Malaysia to be jailed: "Najib taken straight to prison"
Published on: Wednesday, August 24, 2022
The Black Maria with Najib inside being escorted to prison where he will serve the sentence.
PUTRAJAYA: History was made Tuesday when Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was ordered to serve his 12-year jail sentence immediately, the first former Prime Minister to be jailed and the son of a late Prime Minister at that.This follows the decision of the Federal Court in upholding his conviction, 12-year jail sentence and RM210 million fine for misappropriating RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.ADVERTISEMENT
Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, in her broad grounds, said having pored through the evidence, the submissions and the rest of the records of appeal, it was found that Najib’s complaints as contained in the petition of appeal devoid of any merit.
The decision also means that Najib is automatically disqualified from his seat as the MP for Pekan under Article 48(1)(e) of the Federal Constitution.
“On the totality of the evidence, we find the conviction of the appellant on all seven charges safe. We also find that the sentence imposed is not manifestly excessive. These appeals are therefore unanimously dismissed and the conviction and sentence are affirmed,” she said, adding “I pronounce warrant of committal.”
Najib’s lead counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik then requested a stay of execution pending a review application against Tuesday’s decision.
“The application is dismissed. The court is adjourned,” Justice Tengku Maimun responded before leaving the courtroom.ADVERTISEMENT
Other judges on the panel were Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judges Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan, Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan and Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd.
Najib would serve the jail sentence at the Sungai Buloh Prison.
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Earlier, the disgraced Umno leader said “I’m sorry” to supporters near the Palace of Justice’s rear entrance before the Federal Court bench made its ruling on his final appeal against his conviction.
“Thank you all for being here and I really appreciate the undivided support you all have given me.
“I’m sorry. I have done everything I could but every application I made was dismissed by the court,” he said, adding that he also felt mistreated and believed that a fair trial had not been accorded to him.
Also present were his two children, Nooryana Najwa and Norashman.
The then High Court Judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who is now a Court of Appeal judge, sentenced Najib to 10 years’ jail on each of the three counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and each of the three counts of money laundering, and 12 years’ jail and a RM210 million fine, in default five years’ jail, in the case of abuse of position on July 28, 2020.
Najib, 69, had on Dec 8, 2021, failed to overturn the ruling after the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s decision.
The decision also means that Najib is automatically disqualified from his seat as the MP for Pekan under Article 48(1)(e) of the Federal Constitution.
Najib, then only 23, first won the Pekan seat unopposed in 1976 upon the demise of his late father, Abdul Razak Hussein, the country’s second Prime Minister. Two years later, he was appointed a Deputy Minister. He went on to become Pahang’s Menteri Besar between 1982 and 1986, after which he held several Cabinet portfolios.
He became deputy Prime Minister to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2004 and went on to replace him in 2009, becoming the country’s sixth Prime Minister, a post which he held for nine years until his Barisan Nasional government was overthrown in the 14th general election on May 9, 2018.
The hearing of Najib’s appeal commenced on Aug 18, after the Federal Court spent Monday and Tuesday of last week hearing his motion for leave to adduce fresh evidence to show that Nazlan ought not to have presided over the trial due to an alleged “serious conflict of interests.” That application was dismissed on Tuesday afternoon.
Upon its dismissal, lead counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik applied for the hearing to be postponed, citing insufficient time to prepare his arguments. That application was rejected by the apex court.
Hisyam had been appointed lead counsel by Najib on July 25 replacing Shafee Abdullah, while the law firm of Zaid Ibrahim Suflan TH Liew & Partners took over conduct as solicitors from Shafee & Co.
When the hearing began on Thursday, Hisyam apologised to the court and asked to be discharged from representing Najib as he was not ready to make his submissions.
The bench rejected the request and directed him to continue representing Najib, although it allowed the discharge of the rest of Najib’s legal team, including co-counsel Zaid Ibrahim and his firm as solicitors.
Since the defence counsel was unable to make his submissions, Tengku Maimun called on ad hoc prosecutor, V Sithambaram, to deliver his submissions. The prosecution closed its submissions at the end of last week.
Najib was arrested on July 3, 2018 and charged the following day. His trial was conducted in the High Court over 79 days between April 2019 and March 2020 and a total of 86 witnesses testified. He was convicted on July 28, 2020.
On Dec 8, 2021, a three-member Court of Appeal panel chaired by Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil unanimously upheld his conviction and sentence. The other judges who presided were Has Zanah Mehat and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
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