KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — The Umno Supreme Council has expressed its “disappointment” over yesterday’s decision by the Court of Appeal in Kuala Lumpur to uphold former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s conviction of misappropriating RM42 million from SRC International Sdn Bhd.
In a statement today, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said this was the stance of the council after it had a meeting last night, which was chaired by Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“No disrespect to the Court of Appeal’s verdict, but the meeting hopes that his (Najib’s) appeal to the Federal Court will receive a fair judgment, because many are of the opinion that some leaders were charged after the 14th general election (GE14) due to politically motivated reasons.
“Umno believes that the country’s judicial system must always uphold the highest principles of justice,” read the statement.
Yesterday, Najib failed in his appeal at the Court of Appeal, where he was seeking to overturn the High Court’s July 28, 2020 decision which found him guilty of all seven charges relating to SRC’s RM42 million.
The High Court previously sentenced Najib to 10 years’ jail for each of six charges (three counts each of criminal breach of trust and money laundering), as well as 12 years’ jail and a RM210 million fine with an additional five years’ jail if the fine is not paid for the abuse of position charge.
The High Court had ruled that Najib’s prison sentences would run concurrently or at the same time, which would mean a maximum imprisonment of 12 years for Najib.
Yesterday, a three-judge panel at the Court of Appeal ruled that the High Court did not make any errors in its decision, and upheld the conviction, RM210 million fine and the jail sentence on Najib.
The High Court previously sentenced Najib to 10 years’ jail for each of six charges (three counts each of criminal breach of trust and money laundering), as well as 12 years’ jail and a RM210 million fine with an additional five years’ jail if the fine is not paid for the abuse of position charge.
The High Court had ruled that Najib’s prison sentences would run concurrently or at the same time, which would mean a maximum imprisonment of 12 years for Najib.
Najib has since filed his appeal to the Federal Court seeking to overturn the Court of Appeal’s unanimous ruling.
