KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — It is not a crime for the attorney general (AG) and chief justice (CJ) to be dancing during an event, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.
But the former prime minister argued that the incident raised doubts and concerns on the principle of separation of powers.
Responding to the video of AG Tommy Thomas and CJ Tan Sri Richard Malanjum dancing along with several others at a gala dinner held on Friday, Najib said the principle of separation of powers is based on the Federal Constitution and the pillar of the rule of law, which had been strongly championed by the new Pakatan Harapan government.
“Even though there is nothing wrong with dancing, it is the people’s perception towards the separation of powers between the chief justice, attorney general, the law minister, and others
“This is a principle that is based on the Federal Constitution that has become the pillar of the rule of law that has been upheld by the new government,” he told reporters after a casual meeting session with motorcycle enthusiasts at the Podium, here, today.
Citing an incident in 2016 when former AG Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali was criticised by the then Opposition party for dancing with several former ministers at a Merdeka day celebration, Najib questioned PH’s silence over this event.
“Tan Sri Apandi was also criticised then. If they had applied the same standards, then why have they kept quiet about it now?” he quizzed the reporters.
Najib had earlier met with several motorcycle enthusiasts at the said eatery, which was initially planned to be a group riding session.
Due to the unprecedented rainy weather, the Pekan MP had instead sat with the people and interacted in a Facebook live session with his fans, whom he had exchanged a short question-and-answer session with.
Najib arrived at the venue as a pillion riding on a blue-black Yamaha NVX-155 at 6.30pm, just after the rain had died down, while his supporters had chanted his new term of reference, ‘bossku’.
“Malu apa bossku”, which was the headline used at an event last week, refers to a reply made by Najib in a now viral selfie video of him alongside a long-haired man calling out “Boss kita!” (“Our boss!”), and the phrase has now even entered popular culture.
