KUALA LUMPUR – The legal community is questioning former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s recent apology, suggesting it may be aimed at swaying public opinion rather than influencing his ongoing criminal proceedings connected to the 1 Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.
Speaking to Scoop, lawyer A. Srimurugan explained that Najib’s statement, read out to the press by his son Datuk Nazir Najib, constitutes an extrajudicial statement, carrying no legal weight in court.
Srimurugan noted that on October 30, the Kuala Lumpur High Court will determine if Najib must enter his defence for charges of abuse of power and money laundering. According to Srimurugan, Najib’s apology will have no bearing on Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah’s decision.
“The apology was not made inside court during proceedings. The judge won’t even know this statement was made because it’s not part of the court records,” Srimurugan told Scoop.
However, Srimurugan added that an apology delivered in court during the mitigation phase could potentially impact sentencing.
He noted that while Najib claimed his apology was “unreserved,” he simultaneously maintained his innocence, which Srimurugan suggested undermines the sincerity of the statement.
“He is saying sorry but asserting he is not the mastermind and maintained his innocence. An apology suggests that you’re taking responsibility, so you can’t condition it with a ‘but,’” Srimurugan said.
Najib’s insistence on referencing a Swiss court decision, which found PetroSaudi executives guilty of embezzling 1MDB funds, as evidence of his innocence was also scrutinised by Srimurugan, who cautioned that such conclusions require a review of the Swiss judgment.
“Just because the co-conspirators were found guilty, it doesn’t negate another person’s liability. Najib must be judged according to the facts of his case,” Srimurugan added.
Lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan echoed Srimurugan’s views, asserting that the court’s decisions rely solely on statements made within legal proceedings. Rajesh pointed out that, even if Najib is found guilty, the apology read by his son could not be used to mitigate his sentence.
“His apology will have no impact whatsoever on October 30 as the court will decide purely on the evidence presented, and they will not entertain statements outside legal proceedings. Even mitigation takes place in court before the judge. Statements made outside will not be taken into account even at that stage,” Rajesh said.
Similarly, former prosecutor Farhan Read said that Najib’s apology lacks any legal significance, suggesting it may serve personal or political purposes rather than legal ones.
“I don’t think the apology is going to carry any legal weight. In fact, I would say that it’s done in a way as to not admit any legal infirmities in his case. Perhaps he just wants to apologise, either for personal or political reasons,” Farhan, who was previously on Najib’s legal team, explained.
Najib issued his “unreserved” apology for the 1MDB scandal, which took place during his tenure as prime minister and finance minister, through a statement read by his eldest son at the Kuala Lumpur court complex last week.
He cited recent developments, particularly a Swiss court ruling convicting PetroSaudi executives Tarek Obaid and Patrick Mahony of embezzling over US$1.8 billion from 1MDB, as proof that he was not the scandal’s mastermind.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court is set to decide on October 30 whether Najib must enter his defence for four charges of abuse of power related to RM2.3 billion from 1MDB, as well as 21 counts of money laundering involving the same sum. Najib has been serving a prison sentence since August 23, 2022, for corruption linked to SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary. – October 28, 2024
