Pages

Friday, March 03, 2023

Govt respects court’s acquittal of Najib, says Fahmi


FMT:

Govt respects court’s acquittal of Najib, says Fahmi


The communications and digital minister says allegations that the government interfered in the case are an insult to the courts.



Communications and digital minister Fahmi Fadzil reiterated that the government would not interfere with the court’s affairs.


PUTRAJAYA: The government respects the High Court’s decision to acquit former prime minister Najib Razak from a charge of alleged abuse of power by causing amendments to the 1MDB audit report.

“As Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said, the government will not interfere with the court’s affairs,” communications and digital minister Fahmi Fadzil told a press conference here.

Fahmi added that claims the government had interfered in the case were an insult to the courts.

“This is the court’s process and we respect its decision,” he said.


Earlier today, co-accused and former 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy was also acquitted of a charge of abetting Najib in the commission of the offence.

Justice Zaini Mazlan held that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against Najib under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009.

In his judgment, Zaini held that although four items were removed from the 1MDB audit report, those items did not give rise to the possibility of any civil or criminal proceedings being brought against Najib.

The judge also issued a certificate of indemnity in Arul Kanda’s favour after being satisfied that the former 1MDB CEO had been truthful and given full discovery when testifying in the case.

Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, described the former Pekan MP’s acquittal as a positive development for their family and would also boost the ex-Umno president’s morale.

Meanwhile, Najib’s lawyer Shafee Abdullah said he believed that the court’s decision will be the beginning of “many good things to come”.

Najib is currently serving a 12-year jail term after his conviction and sentencing in the SRC International case were upheld by the Federal Court last year.

An application for leave to review the SRC case is presently pending in the Federal Court.


No comments:

Post a Comment