The Malaysian Insight

A WEEK after he was found guilty by the high court of illicitly receiving RM42 million, former prime minister Najib Razak said the money was not a bribe or for personal gain but for welfare programmes, including to help orphans.

The 67-year-old Pekan MP posted a video on Facebook calling his verdict unfair. He said 99% of the money from SRC International that went into his accounts in 2014 and 2015 was used for corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.

On Tuesday, Najib was sentenced to serve 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million for seven charges. Failure to pay the fine will incur five more years of jail time.

Prison and fine were stayed by the court pending his appeal.

On his video today, Najib said it was unjust of the court to fine him for spending money on CSR activities. 

“The court has ordered me to pay a RM210 million fine for having received the RM42 million, of which 99% was spent on CSR activities. The fine means I have to pay RM5 for every RM1 spent on welfare.”

“The truth of the matter is that the money was not for personal use. This was even confirmed by the court, which agreed that 99% of the money was not for personal use.”

Najib said witness testimonies confirmed his claim. 

For example, he said he donated RM400,000 to the Rumah Penyayang Tun Abdul Razak orphanage in Pekan. The money helped with schooling and housing expenses, he added. 

“But because of my contribution, I was fined the equivalent of RM2 million.”

“I am being punished for charity work, for looking after the welfare of orphans, for helping with their schooling expenses.” 

Najib said he was also punished for welfare contributions funnelled through Umno branches in Johor, Penang and Kedah.

“I have been fined the equivalent of RM3.25 million for welfare contributions amounting to RM650,000.

“There were numerous examples where I was punished for my contributions, which was not for personal gain, but for the rakyat.”

Najib repeated his claim that he had truly believed that the RM42 million was a donation from late Saudi ruler Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Saud and that he would fight to clear his name in the appellate courts.

“With the support I have received for standing firm by the truth, I vow to fight this very unfair judgment. I will fully utilise the appeals process and I will continue to fight for the rakyat.

“I want to stress that I never asked for nor was I ever offered the RM42 million as gratification. There is not an iota of evidence that the prosecutors have provided to prove this.”

Last week Najib filed three notices of appeal at the Kuala Lumpur High Court to set aside his conviction and  penalties.

Najib was convicted of three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money laundering and a single charge of abuse of power in connection with SRC International, formerly a subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

He was sentenced to 10 years in jail for each count of CBT and each count of money laundering of which he was convicted. For abuse of power, he was sent to jail for 12 years and fined RM210 million or five years’ jail in default.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

The court ordered the former prime minister to report to a police station twice a month while he is out on bail.

Ad hoc prosecutor V. Sithambaram has said that the appeals process would take at least a year. – August 4, 2020.