COMMENT | Legally speaking, many lawyers are not convinced with the latest route taken by former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his lawyers in referring his case to the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD).

As far as politicians are concerned, Najib’s move is essentially a political gimmick in order to stay relevant.

In filing his petition for the UN’s intervention via UNWGAD, Najib primarily seeks to set aside the unanimous verdict by Malaysia’s apex court, which found him guilty and in turn reaffirmed the sentence meted out by the courts below. Alternatively, he is praying for a retrial.

The main thrust of his complaint to...