PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called on the government to explain the basis for giving privileges to former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak despite his conviction for financial crimes.
The two-time premier recalled the treatment by the police of his former deputy Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1998 after Mahathir sacked him from the Cabinet
“We see vastly different treatment between Anwar Ibrahim and Najib Razak. While the police broke Anwar’s door and arrested him, handcuffed and threw him into a police car to be detained before he was charged in court, Najib was never arrested or handcuffed or taken to a lock-up in a police car.
“He goes to court in his car, and after the hearing, he goes home. Yet the charges against him are more serious. Even when he was found guilty and sentenced to 12 years jail and a fine of more than RM200 million, he has not paid his fine or been jailed simply because he had appealed his case,“ the Langkawi MP said in his latest blog post today.
Mahathir also questioned why, despite being convicted, Najib is not only free but also permitted to travel with his passport, in contrast to how Anwar was treated when he was prosecuted and convicted.
“When a person is found guilty, he is guilty until the appeals court decides he is innocent. But the appeals court has not decided he is innocent. Therefore, he is guilty, and he should serve his sentence. But he is treated like an innocent person, not paying his fine or jailed.
“As far as is known, no other person has been treated this way. More than that, he is now allowed to leave the country. Again, there is no such precedent anywhere,” he added.
The Court of Appeal is expected to deliver its ruling on Najib’s appeal against his conviction and sentence in the SRC International case on Dec 8.
Najib’s lawyers had applied for a postponement to after December 13 as Najib wanted enough time to return from Singapore to visit his daughter and fulfil mandatory quarantine upon return.
The appeals court, however, rejected this request earlier today.
