KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — The prestigious Royal Lake Club has removed disgraced and incarcerated former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as its patron.
Following a copy of the letter that went viral on social media, club president Manjeet Singh Dhillon confirmed to Malay Mail the decision was made through a general committee meeting on August 25.
“Yes, the letter is genuine. The decision was made, it’s as simple as that,” Manjeet said when contacted.
A staff of the club’s membership department has also confirmed this.
“The general committee at its meeting on August 25, 2022, pursuant to the conviction of the above-named by the Federal Court on August 23, 2022, revoked the Club’s patronship conferred on Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak on June 1, 2011 with immediate effect,” the letter signed by Manjeet read.
The revoking of Najib’s patronship comes after the conviction of seven charges in his SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption trial.
The Court of Appeal had on December 8, 2021 upheld the High Court’s July 2020 verdict and sentence of 12 years in prison and a fine of RM210 million meted against Najib.
Najib had been found guilty of one count of abuse of power, three counts of criminal breach of trust, and three counts of money laundering. He is currently serving his sentence in the Kajang Prison.
The Royal Lake Club was founded on August 16, 1890, and was envisioned by former prime minister and past president, the late Tun Abdul Razak, as the country’s premier club.
Abdul Razak was Najib’s father.
In May 2019, the Sultan of Selangor had suspended state titles awarded to Najib and his wife pending the completion of their corruption cases in court.
The Selangor awards conferred the “Dato’ Seri” title to Najib and “Datin Paduka Seri” to Rosmah.
The SPMS refers to the Darjah Kebesaran Seri Paduka Mahkota Selangor First Class conferred on Najib in 2004, while the DPMS refers to the Darjah Kebesaran Dato’ Paduka Mahkota Selangor Second Class conferred on the Pekan MP earlier in 1992.
Rosmah was also bestowed with the SPMS First Class that carries the title “Datin Paduka Seri” in 2005.
