YOURSAY | ‘Not being the mastermind does not absolve Najib of his guilt.’
From forward in Dr M’s team to defender in Najib’s team - Zaid’s pirouette
Dr Raman Letchumanan: Lawyer Zaid Ibrahim, so is this the new perspective you are bringing to former premier's Najib Abdul Razak's appeal at the Federal Court?
You should know foolishness and stupidity is no defence in law. I understand Najib has tried all this in the High Court and Court of Appeal, but the appellate court rightly called him a national embarrassment.
In defending Najib as the former prime minister - and possibly the future prime minister - I hope you will stop embarrassing him further. You are his lawyer now.
Furthermore, when a prime minister is embarrassed, it reflects on the people of Malaysia who put him there. Apparently, he was a prime minister and finance minister who could easily be fooled by all and sundry, resulting in billions of taxpayers’ money siphoned off under his watch.
The Federal Court can grant you all that you wish for and still conduct the main appeal as scheduled on Aug 15. All Najib has to do is to instruct the previous lawyers to remain, and co-opt any number of new lawyers into the team.
Vijay47: If I were the chief justice (of the Federal Court), I would gladly allow the short extension that Zaid and team seek. Heck! I would even grant them a postponement of 30 days - take it brother, may it serve you well.
My generosity is founded on the perception (how I love that word these days!) that if this article accurately reflects the intellect and expertise that counsel possesses, his client’s goose is well and truly cooked.
The primary fresh defence, that surprisingly seems to have eluded Mr Hotshot (lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah), appears to be that Najib was belted and he was flayed, like Gunga Din, and by the Livin’ Gawd that made him, he was lied to!
He merely pursued the path set by the many falsehoods strewn on his way. Accordingly, My Lord, I pray that my client be acquitted forthwith for him to celebrate life as he might.
Najib was not the planner! Just imagine the legal defence the 40 Thieves would adopt – “Yes, Yang Ariff, we rode and we robbed, but the damn mastermind was Ali Baba. And we never even got to meet Paris Hilton.”
Just to skim through some of the more humorous lines we were treated to - time constraints prevented Umno and BN from offering a proper explanation on 1MDB?
How long do you want? Four years and 10 days is not enough? There was no ‘Walk for Justice’ to bring back Jho Low. Jho Low is now prime minister?
By the way, within the context of that dinner, the correct term is not ‘group of ingrates’ but ‘group of enviates’ which I just made up. I digress, of course.
The substitute player laments the description of his client as a “convict” since “The court process is still not over”. Wow! This lawyer is good!
But the common principle is that a man is innocent until proven guilty. Alas, there were legal flurries at two judicial tiers with both finding and confirming his guilt. Thus, the ball and chain is on the other foot – he is now indeed a convict unless found otherwise in a fortnight.
I believe even a pardon will not wash away that stain writ on the wall.
PinkKiwi3303: I have five simple rakyat's questions:
1. Why did Najib lie about the ‘fable’ Arab donor?
2. Why didn't Najib act when Jho Low’s shenanigans were brought to his attention?
3. Can you explain the ‘681 American pies’ in Najib's bank account?
(American pies)
4. What about the items seized at Pavilion condominium?
5. Are you 100 percent sure Najib was not aware of anything and a Chinaman could pull wool over Najib's eyes?
5impleMind: Zaid may believe that Najib did not mastermind the heist. But turning a blind eye to the monies that made its way into Najib's accounts is another story.
After all, does Najib have to be the mastermind? He was the prime minister; his advisers will do all the scheming for him. Not being the mastermind does not absolve him of his guilt.
So, Zaid is just spewing a load of rubbish.
Scoop: Even if Najib didn’t know the full extent of the looting of 1MDB, he did everything he could to cover it up and shut up those exposing the scandal. He did nothing to retrieve the stolen money and did nothing to bring Jho Low and his henchmen it justice.
That’s worth a good few years in jail.
Scarecrow: We need more politicians like Zaid who is brave to admit his past mistaken view on Bossku and make necessary changes to his position and stand once he discovers the truth
Don’t forget that he was willing to lose his ministerial position as an Umno politician for the sake of defending the truth against the powerful prime minister then. Very few Umno ministers ever made such sacrifices for the sake of upholding principles and the truth.
He also has the unique experience of being in government and opposition parties from Umno to PKR and to DAP and now presumably back in Umno - one wide cycle which allowed him to view Bossku and 1MDB from various points of view held by various parties.
I don’t always agree with him, but who am I when compared to someone like him with his wealth, prestige, position and experience? But whatever he says now must be right and true.
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