Some from the Malay community consider the arrest and court charges against former premier Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor to be "selective prosecution," according to a survey. 

However, the Ilham Centre said its survey – which was conducted among 18 focus groups over the period of a month – found that most did not consider the prosecution to be a big issue. 

The 18 focus groups were selected from six regions – north, south, central, and the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak.

Ilham Centre spokesperson Yusri Ibrahim noted that the survey findings were interesting, as those interviewed were not paying much attention to Najib and Rosmah's court case despite it being widely reported on the media. 

"When asked about their opinion about Najib and Rosmah, those from the northern and southern region, including those from the older age group, did not respond, beyond saying that the matter should be left to the courts to decide.

"A small group even expressed sympathy for Najib and felt that the Pakatan Harapan government was exacting revenge on Najib," he told the 'Malay Muslims in transition: Where are they heading?' forum in George Town last night.

"They see the charges against Najib as selective prosecution, and expressed concerns that the judiciary would side with the government – like what happened during BN's rule prior to the May 9 national polls this year."

Yusri added that the respondents pointed to charges against Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli being dropped as evidence of this.

'Timely action'

The Ilham Centre spokesperson also noted that several respondents – primarily youths from the central region – welcomed the actions against the former premier and his wife.

"This group said the action against Najib was timely. 

"They hope to see it happen so that the rule of law can be upheld and they are quite excited about the court cases."

Among others, Najib faces four counts of graft and 21 counts of money laundering involving the 1MDB funds, which has been set for trial from April 15 to May 3.

He also faces the charge of allegedly tampering with the 1MDB audit report. The case will be mentioned at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on March 1.

The forum last night also featured Penang Institute research fellow Wong Chin Huat, ProjekMM editor Fathi Aris Omar, and Lawyers for Liberty executive director Latheefa Koya as speakers.

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