'This is wrong' - supporters rage against guilty verdict
Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was a picture of calm when he was pronounced guilty today at High Court on seven criminal charges involving RM42 million from 1MDB-linked SRC International Sdn Bhd.
However, it was a different picture outside the Kuala Lumpur court complex where thousands of Najib supporters had gathered, some arriving at the courthouse as early as 6 am.
Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was a picture of calm when he was pronounced guilty today at High Court on seven criminal charges involving RM42 million from 1MDB-linked SRC International Sdn Bhd.
However, it was a different picture outside the Kuala Lumpur court complex where thousands of Najib supporters had gathered, some arriving at the courthouse as early as 6 am.
Many had trouble accepting the verdict handed down against “Bossku”, becoming visibly upset and greeting the news with raised voices.
Cries of “Bossku is innocent” and “Tun (former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad) is cruel” rang out.
Some supporters told Malaysiakini they could not accept the decision. One supporter, Asmah Sulaiman, 58, who hails from Najib’s constituency of Pekan, felt the decision to be unfair.
“This is not fair! (Najib) is innocent. Bossku is a good man.”
Najib is also the long-term Pekan MP and is also known by his popular moniker "Bossku" which he adopted when campaigning for BN in by-elections since 2018.
A supporter from Gombak, who only wanted to be known as Mohammad, 32, stressed that Najib must appeal.
He said: “This is wrong. Bossku must appeal.”
Reen, also from Gombak, meanwhile, said he will continue to stand by Najib as the latter is a “good person”.
“Whatever happens, we (supporters) will continue to support Bossku until death,” he said tearfully.
Senior citizen Putri Maslia, a self-acknowledged staunch supporter of Najib, could not contain her anger at the conviction.
“This is wrong!” Najib has helped me so much. SRC was to help the people, and he helped me,” Putri said.
Pekan supporter Zubaidah said she prayed for Najib.
“This (verdict) is unfair. I hope he appeals and I pray the best for him,” she said.
High court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali today convicted Najib of one count of abuse of power, three counts of money laundering and three counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving the former 1MDB subsidiary.
As at the time of writing, the judge has yet to sentence the accused.
Najib’s legal woes, however, are far from over. He has other criminal cases which are still ongoing. They are the RM2.28 billion 1MDB abuse of power case, the 1MDB audit report tampering case, the RM6.6 billion IPIC (International Petroleum International Corp) CBT case and the RM27 million SRC International money laundering case.
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