The former Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, has been found guilty on Tuesday on the charges of corruption in the first of several cases linked to the theft of the country’s 1MDB fund, becoming first Malaysian politician to be found guilty of graft.
During the hearing, Judge Nazlan Ghazali said that the defense failed to raise reasonable doubt over the former premier’s role in diverting nearly $9.8 million from a unit of 1MDB, the SRC international into his bank accounts.
Ghazali said while referring to the allegations of gross abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and several counts of money laundering that the prosecution has successfully proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
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The judge further added that Razak acted outside the permissible conduct in the approval of loans, which later became the source of funds transferred to his bank accounts. Najib Razak also served as the finance minister of Malaysia.
Ghazali said that the former prime minister benefitted from the approval of loans and that the defendant has failed to raise reasonable doubt over the charges of abuse of power, which is the first of seven charges. Following his conviction, Najib Razak faces years in prison, including hefty sums in fines. Although the charges also carry a sentence of whipping but giving his age, he will be exempted from it.
The court’s verdict came just six days after it told Najib to pay $400 million in unpaid taxes and penalties to the government, covering 2011-2017. Meanwhile, the opposition welcomed the court’s decision. An opposition MP, Tony Pua, who played an important role in exposing the 1MDB scandal, said that they welcome the decision but added that the fight is not yet over.
Hundreds of supporters of embattled politicians gathered outside the court ahead of Tuesday’s verdict to show court their support from Najib Razak. As the news of his conviction broke out, they condemned the decision and described it as ‘’political vengeance’’.
The conviction also became the trending topic on Malaysia’s social media pages, where many citizens welcomed the court’s decision. Political experts called it a victory for the country’s political system where calls of abuse of power are being heard, and people responsible are being held accountable.
However, the defense tried to pursue the judge to delay the sentence until Monday. The judge is expected to decide on this on Tuesday afternoon, although he had earlier said that it is not a common practice in the judicial system to defer sentences.
According to the US Department of Justice, during Najib’s time as premier, a total of 4.5 billion of government’s money had been drained from 1MDB. In April 2019, at the start of the trial, Najib pleaded not guilty. However, on Monday, he took to Facebook and said that he would appeal the conviction, appeals can go as high as the country’s apex court.
In 2018, the news of the scandal prompted mass protests across the country which eventually toppled Najib’s government. Despite the charges against him, he had remained free on bail, criticizing the policies of his former coalition and mentor Mahathir Muhammad.
