KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — Umno said today that the party will stand behind disgraced former president Datuk Seri Najib Razak in other court hearings, despite the latter failing his final bid to appeal the guilty conviction in the SRC International case.
In a statement posted by Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the party is disappointed that Najib was allegedly not given the avenue to defend himself with purported new evidence nor time to prepare, even as the Federal Court found no reason to do so.
“For Umno, the Federal Court’s decision yesterday cannot erase the great service of Najib as a prime minister who brought Malaysia up as a beacon of success and put Malaysia on the stage before being overshadowed by the failure of two governments after the 14th general election,” he said.
Zahid’s party Umno was part of the Perikatan Nasional government, one of the two administrations he alluded to.
He added a message for Umno, telling fellow party members to stay calm and cultivate an agenda focusing on fixing current flaws in the justice system.
Yesterday, Zahid had already said that Najib’s fighting spirit will not dim and that Umno’s struggles are still “fresh”.
Ahmad Zahid himself is currently facing 47 charges, namely 12 counts of criminal breach of trust in relation to RM31 million of charitable foundation Yayasan Akalbudi’s funds, 27 counts of money-laundering, and eight counts of bribery charges.
Both Ahmad Zahid and Najib are part of what has been called the “court cluster”, a colloquial term used to lump Umno leaders facing criminal charges together.
Yesterday, Najib failed in his final appeal against the High Court’s guilty conviction, which saw the Federal Court ordering him to serve his 12-year sentence with immediate effect. He was also fined RM210 million.
He had been found guilty of one count of abuse of power, three counts of criminal breach of trust, and three counts of money laundering.
