THE guilty verdict delivered on former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak on all seven corruption charges related to funds from 1MDB-linked company SRC International is part of a long and arduous legal process.
It begins with the trial but it does not end there. Post-trial applications, including challenging the verdict, will see the legal process prolonged.
If the defence contends that an error was made by the judge, it will appeal to the Court of Appeal.
If the Court of Appeal upholds the decision of the trial judge, a further appeal can be made to the Federal Court.
Najib had said a day earlier that he would take the case to the Court of Appeal if found guilty.
He claimed there would be fair judgment if he were to appeal in the appellate court before a panel of three judges instead of one as in the High Court.
“The past two years have been one of darkness, with the filthy political games and Pakatan Harapan’s cruelty. The only shining ray is the rakyat’s support all this while which has given me the strength to rise up and fight, motivating me forward,” he wrote in a Facebook posting.
As justice entails protecting rights and punishing wrongs by following the due process of the law, the legal procedure could be long drawn.
No matter how protracted the whole legal process could be, we have to go by the book.
On that note, going by the book also means acting against the thousands of people who turned up to show support for the Pekan MP.
They stood shoulder to shoulder outside the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex in defiance of police warnings over their disregard for social distancing regulations.
These supporters could have been ferried in by the bus loads from across the country. Or they could have hopped on cars, buses and trains on their own volition.
If it was the former, then those who organised the show of support should be rounded up to face the law for violating the standard operating procedure in our war against the Covid-19 pandemic.
But let’s not be side-tracked by the sideshow and lose sight of the bigger picture.
This trial has been seen as a test of the country’s effort to fight corruption. Let the law take its course for justice to prevail.
