The Malaysian Insight

ALL said and done, true champs do their talking in the ring, field and the track.

Floyd Mayweather, Pep Guardiola and Usain Bolt talk a good game but their words carry weight because they deliver the goods when and where it matters most.

They simply cherish the opportunity to prove their critics and doubters wrong.

Perhaps this is a lesson lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and his prized client, Najib Razak, should follow.

Both of them love to speak.

Unfortunately, most of their talking is being done outside the courtroom, where the prominent lawyer has been engaged to defend the former prime minister from a confetti of money-laundering and embezzlement charges linked to 1MDB.

Najib has vigorously protested his innocence, blaming advisors and the 1MDB board for keeping him in the dark over the flow from the government-owned company into his personal account. On occasion, he has blamed politics for his fall from grace.

Najib and Shafee have with some bombast predicted walking out of court victorious, saying that the prosecution’s case against the former prime minister has no legs.

The accused and his lawyer believe they have a strong case and have been saying that they can’t wait for their day in court.

But so far, it’s been talk and side shows.

The latest side show took place when Shafee spoke about the injury he suffered when his dog playfully jumped at him. He outlined the injury before the court on Tuesday, saying that he may have suffered a fracture.

Malaysians eager to see the trial get underway were flustered at this distraction – just the latest in a conveyor belt of delays and sidebars in the case.

Not surprisingly, many took to the Internet to hammer the lawyer for the story of the dog. They were even upset that the court didn’t seem to understand the urgency of making sure the trial started soonest.

Concerned that he was losing the battle in the court of public opinion, Shafee yesterday wrote a long letter, outlining how the injury happened. By the way, the dog was blameless.

He was keen to shovel the blame on delays and adjournments in the case on Attorney-General Tommy Thomas. He was keen to portray himself and his client as the victims of the A-G.

Guess what?

The majority of the armchair warriors were not interested in his narrative. They continued to slam him, blaming him for the delays, etc.

If he believed that this long letter would win him sympathy and swing public opinion his way, Shafee was sorely mistaken.

Malaysians will judge A-G Thomas on the outcome of the 1MDB trials. They will also judge Najib and Shafee on how they perform once the trials get underway.

The side shows and the noise outside the courtroom will be treated with derision.

After all, true champs do their talking in the ring, field, track – and in courtrooms. – March 14, 2019.