Loyalists insist on Najib’s innocence after order to enter defence on RM42m corruption case

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — Several of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s staunch supporters have claimed bias and political interference in the High Court’s decision to order the former prime minister to enter his defence over RM42 million allegedly misappropriated from 1Malaysia Development Berhad's (1MDB) former subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam, in a brief statement said any hopes of having Najib’s case dismissed by the court was never going to happen — alleging Pakatan Harapan’s collusion in the eventual outcome.

“We have followed the court’s proceedings and listened to the witnesses and the evidence produced in court and it’s enough to prove that Najib is innocent.

“But hoping for this case to be thrown out is like asking to assume there is no political interference in the nation's judicial system,” Lokman said in a statement that also included harsh slurs against Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Umno’s Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz took to Twitter to voice his dissatisfaction in response to a post on the court’s decision.

“Even though there is no proof of abuse of power and the main suspects were not questioned, Najib is still being prosecuted by ‘Mahazalim’ and ‘Pakatan Harbi’.

“Regardless, it’s been proven that Najib is not a thief and that the SRC money is not 1MDB money,” he tweeted on his account @tunfaisal.

‘Mahazalim’ is a slur used to describe Dr Mahathir as a cruel dictator, while Pakatan Harbi referred to the term “kafir harbi” that was historically used to describe non-Muslims who can be slain for opposing Prophet Muhammad and the will of the God.

Earlier this morning High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali said the prosecution successfully proved prima facie against Najib, who is also Pekan MP, on all of his seven charges.

Out of the seven charges levelled against Najib, the Pekan MP is accused of committing three counts of criminal breach of trust over a total RM42 million of SRC International funds while entrusted with its control as the prime minister and finance minister then, and a separate charge under an anti-corruption law of abusing the same positions for self-gratification of the same RM42 million sum.

The remaining three of the seven charges are for allegedly money-laundering the same total sum of RM42 million.

Najib has since chosen to give a sworn statement to answer his charges.