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Prisoner Najib appears in court
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Prisoner Najib appears in court
Combat ships and cotton buds
PAS won’t tap its feet to concerts
Prisoner Najib appears in court
After being hauled to the Kajang Prison on Tuesday to serve his 12-year prison sentence, former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak arrived at the Jalan Duta court complex in Kuala Lumpur yesterday to attend his RM2.28 billion 1MDB corruption trial.
His wife Rosmah Mansor, who was also present, greeted supporters and told reporters that her husband is in good health.
(Follow Malaysiakini’s live coverage on Sept 1 when the High Court in Kuala Lumpur delivers its verdict on Rosmah’s corruption case.)
Yesterday, some 300 supporters submitted a memorandum to Istana Negara requesting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to pardon Najib. The supporters are also furious with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob for allowing his former party president to land in jail.
However, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told those who are petitioning the monarch for a pardon to read the Federal Court’s judgment on Najib’s SRC International case.
Anwar, who landed in prison twice, also said that Najib, who is accustomed to a luxurious lifestyle, would have trouble adjusting to life behind bars.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad, on the other hand, believes Najib would “likely” be granted a pardon.
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Combat ships and cotton buds
PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli continued to fire salvoes at the littoral combat ship (LCS) scandal.
He questioned how much of the RM1.7 billion allocation was an overcharge for regular items that could be bought in a Mydin supermarket or a 7-Eleven store.
Rafizi noted that paragraph 2.6.20 of the forensic audit revealed that global purchase orders (PO) issued to Alizes Marine contained certain items which did not belong to depot level spare parts (repairs and maintenance) such as mineral water, cotton bud packs, cleaning cloth, fans, etc.
Rafizi also urged Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to sack Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) Abdul Latiff Ahmad (above), whom he implicated in the scandal.
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PAS won’t tap its feet to concerts
PAS is livid that the government, of which it is part, continues to grant permission for concerts to be held.
Its Youth wing chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari has warned that if the trend continues, nationwide protests would be organised. According to him, the timing for holding these concerts was inappropriate as they promoted unsuitable values and went against Islam, which is the religion of the federation.
The Youth chief also called on like-minded NGOs and individuals to rise and prevent the spread of this “hedonistic culture”.
Fadhli also wanted the voices of protest to reach Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s ears, saying: “Let’s move this protest effort so that it reaches Seri Perdana (the prime minister’s official residence)."
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Views that matter
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 | S Thayaparan |
 | R Nadeswaran |
What else is happening?
Muda secretary-general Amir Abdul Hadi would be charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (PAA) over his participation at the Aug 14 rally demanding answers on the LCS scandal.
Former MACC top brass Bahri Mohd Zin, who played an instrumental role in the SRC International probe, recalled how his team was threatened, slandered and even offered bribes.
Following Najib Abdul Razak’s high-profile case, human rights lawyer Edmund Bon wanted the “flawed” pardon system for convicted prisoners to be reformed.
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