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Saturday, August 24, 2024

After daughter wells in tears, Zahid chokes up over ‘my friend’ Najib

 

FMT:


After daughter wells in

tears, Zahid chokes up

over ‘my friend’ Najib

-

The party president closes the 2024 Umno general assembly with a poem dedicated to the incarcerated former prime minister.

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Free Malaysia Today
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (left) served as Najib Razak’s deputy prime minister from 2015 to 2018. (Reuters pic)

KUALA LUMPUR
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi appeared to have choked up and held back tears as he paid tribute to former prime minister Najib Razak in closing the party’s general assembly today.

Delivering a poem in his closing speech at the assembly, Zahid struggled with the words as he thanked 

my friend
 Najib for his contributions to the nation and Umno.

Zahid, who served as Najib’s deputy prime minister from 2015 to 2018, said the incarcerated former Umno president had always defended the fate of the people when he led the nation.

“My friend, when I started to set out (Umno’s) next steps, you were there in front pointing me in the right direction.

“My friend, nothing is more heartbreaking than knowing that, at this present moment, you are confined behind bars, with the cold and silent walls of the cell your only company.

My friend, as proof of our true friendship, I bind myself with this pledge to work towards ensuring you return to our embrace. May our efforts be blessed by the Almighty,
 he said.

Earlier, Zahid’s daughter, Nurulhidayah, shed tears while lauding Najib’s contributions, saying his aura and presence could still be felt at Dewan Merdeka, the venue for Umno’s annual general assemblies.

A total of 72 Umno divisions had submitted motions demanding justice and a full royal pardon for Najib, who began his initial 12-year prison term over the SRC International case on Aug 23, 2022, following the Federal Court’s dismissal of his final appeal.

On Feb 2, the Federal Territories Pardons Board announced that the former Umno president’s prison sentence had been reduced from 12 years to six and his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.

Najib, 70, who has three ongoing criminal cases, is serving his sentence at Kajang prison and is set to be released on Aug 23, 2028.

In April, he applied to the High Court to compel the government to produce a purported addendum from the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong allowing him to serve his sentence under house arrest.

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