TangkapNajib activist lauds guilty verdict, recounts 'injustices'
TangkapNajib movement activist Mandeep Singh lauded the guilty verdict against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak yesterday as a victory for all Malaysians.
“Today (Tuesday), Najib Razak has officially become a criminal. He was found guilty by the court for abuse of power and breach of trust.
“This was made possible by all of us, Malaysians, together with the strong solidarity from across the globe. We Malaysians did it!
“The battle may not be over yet, but this one is one great victory for all of us,” Mandeep (photo, above) wrote in a Facebook posting last night.
For the record, Najib intends to appeal against the verdict – a process that prosecutors said could take a year to resolve.
Meanwhile, Mandeep recounted his experience of being arrested by the police on July 31, 2015, in the run-up to the TangkapNajib rally that was to take place on the following day.
“I wrote this today, it's not just about sharing my detention experience but this is to tell the world that these injustices...
TangkapNajib movement activist Mandeep Singh lauded the guilty verdict against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak yesterday as a victory for all Malaysians.
“Today (Tuesday), Najib Razak has officially become a criminal. He was found guilty by the court for abuse of power and breach of trust.
“This was made possible by all of us, Malaysians, together with the strong solidarity from across the globe. We Malaysians did it!
“The battle may not be over yet, but this one is one great victory for all of us,” Mandeep (photo, above) wrote in a Facebook posting last night.
For the record, Najib intends to appeal against the verdict – a process that prosecutors said could take a year to resolve.
Meanwhile, Mandeep recounted his experience of being arrested by the police on July 31, 2015, in the run-up to the TangkapNajib rally that was to take place on the following day.
“I wrote this today, it's not just about sharing my detention experience but this is to tell the world that these injustices happened to activists while fighting Najib Razak for all the abuses and stealing,” he said.
The TangkapNajib rally was organised by a coalition of activists, including Mandeep, dubbed Demi Malaysia. It was meant to protest against Najib over allegations of abuse of power and corruption.
At the time, the Wall Street Journal reported weeks earlier that Najib had received nearly US$700 million (RM2.6 billion at the time of the report) of 1MDB funds in his personal bank account, and Najib had moved to purge his critics, including his then deputy Muhyiddin Yassin, from his cabinet.
Najib also appointed a new attorney-general
Najib had also replaced Abdul Gani Patail as attorney-general. Gani’s successor, Mohd Apandi Ali, would later go on to clear Najib of wrongdoing in relation to the 1MDB scandal.
Mandeep said that on July 31, 2015, he was attending a gathering to show solidarity for The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily, which had been suspended for reporting on the 1MDB scandal.
He received a call from his office during the gathering, informing him that the police were looking for him, and soon received messages that other Demi Malaysia activists had been arrested.
Mandeep immediately switched off his handphone and used a colleague’s handphone to contact lawyer Latheefa Koya and the then Bersih chairperson, Maria Chin Abdullah (above).
He recalled telling Latheefa he wanted to go into hiding because he wanted to attend the TangkapNajib rally, which had been fixed for the next day.
“But Lat Koya went ‘No, you can't! You have to go to the police station, Mandeep!' I relented and then called Maria to pick me from the office and bring me to Balai Polis Petaling.
“At that time, my then-girlfriend now-wife was with me. She was transiting in Kuala Lumpur before heading to Sri Lanka for work. Things happened so fast.
“I remember telling her, ‘Please take care of yourself, and have a safe flight to Colombo’. I knew she was trying to be strong and hiding the sadness. I just smiled and told her that this may be a long detention but I surely will be out.
“I then rang up my dad and told him that I will be ‘checking in again’ in Dang Wangi and Jinjang. Dad was kind of used to me getting detained and said, ‘You take care, and keep fighting’,” Mandeep wrote.
He said that when he met fellow activists Adam Adli Abdul Halim and Shukri Abdul Razab after being taken into police custody, the three of them laughed and embraced each other.
“I whispered to them, ‘I told my friends to continue the demonstration tomorrow.’ They smiled and said, ‘They would certainly come’.”
The next day, while being held under remand at the Jinjang police station lock-up, Mandeep said a police officer came to him at this cell.
“He told me, ‘Many of your friends have been arrested too, perhaps 40 people.’. I smiled and told him, ‘I guess we have succeeded’.
“And he said, ‘Congratulations’.”
Mandeep, Adam and Shukri were released four days later on Aug 4, 2015, after the lawyers successfully challenged their remand.
As for the rally worked on for Aug 1, 2015, it fizzled out after police cracked down on the protesters about half-an-hour before it was scheduled to begin at 2pm, outside the Sogo Shopping Complex in Kuala Lumpur. Twenty-nine people were arrested.
Yesterday, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur found Najib guilty of charges of abuse of power, corruption, and money laundering in relation to the former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.
The former prime minister was sentenced to serve 12 years imprisonment and pay a fine of RM210 million. The court has granted a stay on the execution of the sentence pending the appeal process.
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