Zahid: Najib and I never asked for court cases to be dropped

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he never asked eighth prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin nor current Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to drop his court case.

“We always adhere to the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.

“I have never demanded that my case be dropped whether from the eighth prime minister – Your ‘Abah’ whose political life depended on our support.

“I have also never asked our current prime minister, a person from our party, to drop my case,” Zahid (above) said during his speech to Umno members at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur today.

He said he also believes former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak did not want his court cases to be dropped either.

On the contrary, Najib, just like himself, also wanted to “clear his name in court”, the Umno president said.

“What Najib demanded was merely a fair trial. This is what made us upset.

“All he requested was a temporary postponement to allow his legal team to make thorough preparations.

“Not to drop the case or intentionally delay the case,” Zahid said.

Najib began serving a 12-year prison sentence on Tuesday (Aug 23).

This follows the decision of the Federal Court to uphold the conviction and sentence of 12 years in prison as well as a RM210 million fine against Najib for misappropriating funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd amounting to RM42 million.

Najib’s SRC International case

In mid-August, the Federal Court rejected Najib’s application to adduce fresh evidence.

Najib’s new legal team at the time also failed to postpone the hearing for several months, on the basis that they needed more time to prepare.

Subsequently, Najib issued a statement about the denial of his right to a free and fair trial.

His application to use the services of a Queen’s Counsel from the UK also failed on July 21 when the Kuala Lumpur High Court rejected the application of the lawyer, Jonathan Laidlaw, to represent Najib.

Najib still has another ongoing court case, where he is currently on trial for four charges related to using his position to obtain bribes amounting to RM2.3 billion from 1MDB and 21 charges for money laundering for the same amount.

Meanwhile, Zahid said Najib’s imprisonment could become the catalyst for Umno’s unification.

“This event should unite us, not tear us apart.

“There should not be several clusters. We only have one cluster, which is the Umno cluster.

“When you pinch the right thigh, the left thigh feels the pain,” he said.

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