YOURSAY | ‘Once Najib stops being PM, he would lose his immunity.’

Najib's lawyer: Can foreign investigators act against M'sian PM?

Lawyers: International probes on 1MDB could see arrests in M'sia

Res Ipsa: Lawyer Hafarizam Harun, let's go on the assumption that foreign investigations have unearthed clear-cut evidence of corruption and money laundering through bank statements, etc, implicating the PM.

Bearing in mind that the offences have taken place in those foreign jurisdictions, what do you think that the response from Malaysia should be if there was, say, an extradition request for the PM?

Should we still be allowing him to continue helming the government just because he is or may be entitled to rely on sovereign immunity?

These are the types of questions that we should be asking ourselves instead of those raised by Hafarizam as quoted by Channel News Asia. It appears somewhat a desperate attempt to pre-empt the issues surrounding culpability by harping on matters relating to sovereignty.

Since the investigation processes in Malaysia aren't making much headway, it appears that justice would only be served once the foreign jurisdictions conclude their own investigations and report the findings.

Existential Turd: As Res Ipsa pointed out, the fact that PM Najib Razak's lawyer is falling back on diplomatic immunity as a defence seems to be a pre-emptive move to prevent Najib from being extradited to stand trial overseas.

Diplomatic immunity, however, does not stop a foreign government from charging another sovereign country's leader.

Instead of disputing those allegations and investigations head-on with evidence, they are taking a defensive posture by invoking immunity. One can only deduce from reading between the lines that they know they have no case against a fairly conducted investigation and trial.

Furthermore, once Najib stops being PM, he would lose that immunity anyway. Would he then claim immunity for the crime committed while being PM? Or manufacture some incidents to impose martial law and stay on forever?

Patriot1: Life is sometimes not about legality alone. If foreign investigations do confirm that our government officials are implicated in fraudulent or corruption activities, whether he or she can be subject to international persecution is one issue, but can officials with such dubious character continue to helm our various governmental positions?

What credibility does the government have in the eyes of the rakyat? Does the BN government really want to suffer a catastrophic failure in GE14? What would be our country's reputation in the international arena?

I am really surprised a lawyer representing the PM can really be so shallow.

Rojak: I don't know where Hafarizam went to school but even a first-year law student knows that there are various legal mechanisms to enable action to be taken against citizens of other countries: why else would the Malaysian government have tried - unsuccessfully - to get an Interpol notice issued against the editor of Sarawak Report ?

Whether a person can then be extradited is of course a different matter, and in many ways a political as much as a legal one, but even without extradition there are a range of travel and financial constraints that can be imposed.

Anonymous_1371866496: My answer is yes. Any sovereign country can extend its jurisdictional purview as far as it wishes. This is de jure jurisdiction.

However, although they may possess de jure jurisdiction, they do not possess de facto jurisdiction, unless of course if Najib is no longer in power and they are able to extradite him.

Or if he flies to Switzerland for a holiday.

Prudent: Of course, action can be taken against Najib by foreign governments. International warrants of arrest can be issued by any or all the governments currently investigating 1MDB.

Najib may not be arrested in Malaysia. But if he travels overseas to any jurisdiction where the arrest warrants are recognised, he will be arrested as had happened to Chilean ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet in London in 1998 for human rights violations.

In the meantime, his overseas assets can be tracked down and frozen. Warrants of arrest can come from Switzerland and the United States as well as other countries.

Oxymoronictendencies: Najib and his lawyers seem to have missed the point. Even if Najib cannot be arrested he can certainly be charged in his absence if international authorities believe there is material evidence that he has breached the laws of that country.

However, regardless of whether he can be charged or not, the reality is that unless Malaysian democracy is decimated and Malaysia turned into a fascist state, Najib's tenure in Putrajaya will rapidly become untenable.

Bamboo: Is Hafarizam admitting his boss is guilty? Otherwise, why the laying of ground to claim immunity of any crimes on the boss' behalf.

Crying Shame!!: As a Malaysian, I am really embarrassed that the good image of the country has been destroyed by the acts of some of our top leaders.

It is even more amazing that our law enforcement agencies seem to be condoning their actions by protecting them.

Unafraid: I really wonder how good Muslim and Christian men and women in the cabinet could stay silent and allow such blatant corruption to go unpunished. How can they even pray to their God when their consciences are seared?

Never before in the illustrious history of our nation have we ever been so shamed and disgraced by our PM. Are there no good men and women left in the government?

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