Anwar a 'good leader' for accepting Najib's apology - Zahid

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has praised Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as a “good leader” for accepting former premier Najib Abdul Razak’s apology for the 1MDB scandal, according to a report.

“A good leader should accept apologies from anyone, and Umno stands by the statement made by the secretary-general (Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki).

“We believe Najib was misled by somebody and a group of people, and this matter should be taken seriously.

“We should not continue to be suspicious or make various interpretations of this matter.

“We know that the statement was issued following witness testimony in court, and it was only realised by Najib after the witness gave their testimony,” New Straits Times quoted the deputy prime minister as saying.

The Umno president was reportedly speaking to reporters during a press conference after officiating the Malaysia Madani Gig Economy Convention in Putrajaya today.

Najib issued his apology on Thursday last week but stopped short of admitting guilt or culpability. Instead, he claimed he had been misled and should not be held legally responsible.

The following day, Anwar said he welcomed the former Pekan MP’s apology, but many, including allies and activists, criticised his response.

‘Showing good leadership’

Anwar defended his statement, saying it was about showing good leadership.

“There are a few people, when I said something in response to Najib’s apology, they got angry and went imbecilic all over the place.

“When someone tenders an apology, don’t tell me I should reject it? What sort of behaviour is this?

“I’m the prime minister… ‘father of the nation’… when someone apologises, what else should I say? So, I just said I welcome it,” Berita Harian quoted him as saying earlier today.

Anwar’s aide Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim stressed that Anwar’s response to the apology should not be construed as an attempt to soften the blow caused by the 1MDB scandal.

“There is no issue whether the prime minister welcomes the apology or not. What he said was he ‘accepts in good faith’ the apology made.

“This in no way dismisses or changes the fact that the country suffered extensive damage due to the 1MDB scandal.

“Therefore, any arguments to defend this wrongdoing effectively been invalidated by the apology from the former primer minister Najib,” he said, emphasising that justice must be upheld.

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