Vindication for S'wak Report editor after 'devastating' verdict against Najib
After years reporting on the 1MDB and SRC International affair, Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown said the court's guilty verdict against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak today felt like vindication.
"Of course it felt like a vindication to hear the judge lay out in such clear and precise terms the confirmation of all we have been writing about...
After years reporting on the 1MDB and SRC International affair, Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown said the court's guilty verdict against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak today felt like vindication.
"Of course it felt like a vindication to hear the judge lay out in such clear and precise terms the confirmation of all we have been writing about.
"It is no longer 'foreign lies'. It is a solid judgment by a Malaysian judge after months of going through the facts and listening to the arguments," said Rewcastle-Brown (above) when contacted by Malaysiakini.
She has been writing extensively about 1MDB and its one-time subsidiary SRC International since 2013, uncovering irregularities, the role played in the two companies by Penang-born Jho Low and the international money trail leading to Najib's bank accounts.
Much of what the editor wrote about and the evidence she had uncovered have appeared in various trials against Najib.
In 2015, at the height of the crackdown against dissidents and investigators probing 1MDB, the Najib-administration blocked Malaysian access to Rewcastle-Brown's blog Sarawak Report, issued a warrant for her arrest and accused her of breaching laws barring "activities detrimental to Parliamentary democracy".
Many of Najib's supporters have accused her of being part of a massive foreign conspiracy to overthrow Najib's administration through undemocratic means.
Malaysians now know the truth
Kuching-born Rewcastle-Brown said she expected Najib to appeal this "devastating" verdict but hoped Malaysians will now appreciate the truth.
"I hope that now the Malaysian people can be assured, thanks to their courts, that they now know exactly what happened and who was responsible for and profited from this vast, world record theft.
"Sadly, it was their then prime minister Najib," she said.
The London-based journalist said she followed the delivery of the verdict in the wee hours, describing it as a "nail-biting" experience.
"Obviously it was clear from the start, thanks to the uncompromising tone of the noble judge, that this was going to be a clear and decisive verdict of guilt.
"No one who has followed the trial over the past months will be in the least surprised.
"As the judge said the defence simply failed to make a case in many respects and their arguments stretched credulity.
"I particularly liked that the judge even made the obvious point that Najib failed to even thank the King of Saudi Arabia, whom he sought to pretend he thought had sent him all that money!" said Rewcastle-Brown.
Support good journalism
Asked for her message to journalists who face adversity in reporting corruption, as she did for years, Rewcastle-Brown said she hoped the outcome of Najib's case reinforces the appreciation of journalism's role in keeping societies free and free from corruption.
"Given the nature of this crime perpetrated at the highest levels, there was an overwhelming likelihood for Najib that he would get away with it because all the normal agents of the law were deterred from confronting the highest in the land.
"In these circumstances, it takes journalists to speak out and communicate to the public and ask the right questions about suspicious goings-on," she said.
Rewcastle-Brown said she had feared for her safety and faced many legal and other threats, which she said was always a risk for journalists trying to cover major stories.
In 2015, she had complained that she was being stalked in London while then home minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was looking into ways to have her extradited to face charges in Malaysia.
Rewcastle-Brown could not enter Malaysia until BN was ousted during the 2018 elections. She has since published a book on her experience in covering the 1MDB affair and won an award from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners for her work in 2018.
"So I hope Malaysia takes note of the important role and supports rather than harasses journalists who are trying to speak truth to power and bring the truth to the public about matters that those in power may not like," she said.
Related reports:
Govt respects Najib's right to appeal his sentence
More Umno leaders express sympathy to Najib
Appeal process on SRC verdict may take another year, says prosecution
Khairy’s views are his own, says Najib
Attempts made to discredit Nazlan's impartiality after SRC ruling
Najib sentenced to 12-year concurrent prison term, RM210m fine
Zahid: Umno to make 'political decision' in response to Najib's conviction
I ensured fairer, gentler society – Najib's speech from the dock
Najib guilty of all seven charges related to SRC International
SRC case: Defence requests mitigation to be heard on Monday
SRC verdict justice for M'sians, say politicians, journos who exposed 1MDB scandal
Judge, prosecutor make history with conviction of former PM
'This is wrong!' -'Bossku' supporters rage against guilty court verdict
Cops remind Najib's supporters to adhere to Covid-19 SOP
SOPs disregarded: Health DG 'saddened' by lack of self-control at court complex
Muhyiddin 'smiles the widest' at Najib's SRC verdict, claims Puad
MP complains of Covid-19 risk in Parliament after colleagues join Najib rally
Return voters' mandate, reform institutions - Harapan after SRC verdict
LIVE | Najib recites 'sumpah laknat' again, denies knowledge of RM42m
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.