Najib’s Trial: Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied

A Kadir Jasin

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم

PREAMBLE: Views expressed herein are entirely mine. I am writing in my personal capacity as a blogger. It has nothing to do with whatever position I may hold.

Najib prays. But the people have prayers too.

WE are often told that justice delayed is justice denied and justice is not only for the victims but equally for the accused.

In the case of the Public Prosecutor vs (Datuk Seri I Mappadulung Daeng Mattimung Karaeng Sandrobone Sultan Abdul Jalil) Mohd Najib Abdul Razak, a delayed justice affects the people as much as the accused.

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Malaysia has become the laughing stock of the world. The 1MDB case has been variously described as the biggest heist in history.

Thus far justice remains undone. Instead what we see is the opposite - the injustice to the country and its people.

Whereas the public has suffered the consequences of the alleged misdeeds of the accused, the man himself continues to lead the life of comfort and privilege.

Unlike other alleged offenders from the previous administration, Najib was not kept in the MACC’s lock-up and was exempted from wearing the commission’s orange-coloured attire.

Instead he was treated like a VIP. Compared to the crime he was accused of committing, he was let loose on minimum bails.

What is a bail of RM1 million or RM2 million to a man who is being accused of stealing billions in public funds?

On whatever grounds that his trial is delayed, the fact remains that justice remains undone.

For Najib, justice is denied because it delays his chances of proving with reasonable doubt that he is not guilty of all the crimes he is charged with.

For Najib’s supporters, justice is denied because it delays the fullfilment of their hopes and prayers that their beloved “Bossku” would soon be vindicated.

For Najib’s detractors, justice is denied because it delays their hopes and prayers of wanting to see him dispatched to Sungai Buloh for a long time.

We can only hope and pray that the learned judges, the public prosecutors and the defence counsels have as much concern for the interest of the public as they do for Najib.

Najib is not an ordinary chicken thief. Nor is he a poor uneducated man who stole a loaf of bread from a supermarket to feed his hungry children.

Najib is not a good-for-nothing “kamjat” from the backstreet of Georgetown, Penang or a ganja-induced mat rempit.

He is an aristocrat who was born with a silver spoon.  He is an educated man. He said he has a degree from an English university.

At 23 he became a member of Parliament uncontested. At 29 he became the youngest Menteri Besar in history. His passage to the top was facilitated because he is Tun Abdul Razak’s son.

He doesn’t need to bother about making money. As he once told us in the early days of the 1MDB scandal that his wealth was the product of legacy.

If you are old you know that his grandfather on his mother’s side, the late Tan Sri Mohd Noah Omar, was a fabulously wealthy man.

Together with the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong he pioneered the Genting Highlands Casino.

If you are young and are promoting his “Malu Apa Bossku” roadshow, you better make an afford to know who this capo dei capi is.

I am both lucky and unlucky to have known him since 1977 when I exclusively interviewed him for the Business Times newspaper on occasion of the 1^st anniversary of his election as the MP for Pekan, Pahang.

As for his new found fame as “bossku”, only a thief would say to his boss who is caught stealing “malu apa bossku” (what is there to be ashamed of my boss).

The Magna Carta say, “To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice."

Wallahuaklam.