By Thomas Fann
Rafique’s doubts about the sincerity of Najib Razak’s apology is unsurprising and shared by many since Najib still claims innocence for the scheme to defraud the people through 1MDB when he was the prime minister, finance minister and chairman of 1MDB at the time.
He was either the most intellectually impaired person who have ever held the highest office in the land or he is totally complicit in the scheme. He cannot claim ignorance or innocence as he does.
If Najib is truly remorseful, he should not only fully cooperate with the authority to bring all those who partook in the stealing to justice but also fully repatriate and restore every sen that was stolen.
Talk is cheap but the true test of his sincerity is his admission of guilt, cooperation and restoration of what was lost.
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If the motivation and timing of Najib’s apology is to justify obtaining a home detention to finish off the remainder of his sentence, it would be making a mockery of the law and justice. Does it mean that any prisoner or criminal can just say sorry from now on and have their sentences commuted to home detention, in Najib’s case, at his luxurious home at Jalan Langgak Duta?
If it is true Najib will be released from Kajang Prison and be ‘detained’ at home, is the government telling us that there is one set of law for the rich and powerful and another for the rest of us?
Or is the government going to release thousands of others to home detention just to prove that there are no double standards? Can this law be retroactively applied to those already in prison?
In any case, Najib’s 1MDB trials are still ongoing while his current incarceration is for the SRC International case. He has been found guilty by the court of stealing RM42m, sentenced and had his jail time and fine halved.
Has he paid the fine? Does his apology for 1MDB also cover SRC International?
We hope that the “Madani” government’s proposal of a new home detention law and Najib’s half-hearted apology is not part of a political deal to shore up political support.
Home detention or even a full pardon is not unacceptable but when done without going through the full due process of the law and without admission of guilt, it is unacceptable.
Thomas Fann is a member of Projek Sama.
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