COMMENT | There are two forms of guilt. One in the court of law, the other in the court of public opinion. The highest court of the land, the Federal Court, has reinforced former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s guilty verdict, as what has been delivered by two lower courts, finally closing the SRC International case.

Justice has finally been served to Najib, who has been attempting to evade conviction since the day he lost the reins of office as the sixth prime minister of Malaysia on May 9, 2018.

That said, “Desire, desires, desires”. Najib longs to return to power to liberate himself from the 12-year jail term and fine of RM210 million over the SRC case, with four other cases still pending not including his wife Rosmah Mansor’s, which will come to a head next month.

In the fight to end corruption, which brought down Sri Lanka, the court of public opinion must know that those found guilty of graft will undoubtedly spend their vast, ill-gotten, and hidden wealth to conduct a sustained but stealthy public relations campaign to maintain their innocence.

The scholar Muhammad Kamal Hassan hit the nail on the head when writing on corruption and hypocrisy, that those in the thick of it, like Najib, will continue to claim to be victims of political persecution.

To a degree...