It has been several days since Najib’s trial started and the latest development with his case reveals that the former prime minister spent a lot of money for the Ah Jib Gor Facebook account.
Malaysiakini reported that Najib gave RM238,914 to Lim Soon Peng, a famous businessperson, to spend it on content and writers for the above-mentioned Facebook account.
Source: Malaysiakini
Najib’s ex-political secretary (2011 – 2018) and witness in the case, Wong Nai Chee, shared this valuable information in the Kuala Lumpur High Court during Najib’s trial for money laundering and criminal breach of trust.
Wong further said that Lim paid some of the money to AD Network to manage the Ah Jib Gor FB account. Then, the balance of the money was later spent by Akademi Kewartawanan & Informasi Taime (Akit) to take in “objective Chinese writers”.
In response to a question by DPP Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim Musaimi, Wong noted that Lim is quite influential amongst Chinese leaders and he has the ability to gather the crowds if he were asked to. However, Lim had no connection with the two aforementioned companies.
Instead, he was only involved as the middle man who dealt with the payment process to disconnect Najib from the activities related to the Ah Jib Gor ‘movement’.
Source: Malaysiakini
Under cross-examination by lead defence lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Wong explained that the Ah Jib Gor Facebook page was made to influence the Chinese community.
Wong said that the page was meant to paint the government policy accurately to the public. A small exchange between Shafee and Wong in court is shown below:
Shafee: Is (the page designed) to understand the community (better) and to serve them?
Wong: (It is) for the community to better understand the government.
Source: Malaysiakini
Following that, Shafee asked Wong what did he mean by labelling the writers “objective”. Wong immediately answered that it was a political strategy. Prior to the election, they found many negative Chinese sentiments about the government, and thus they wanted the commentaries on the government to be more objective.
FYI, the Ah Jib Gor Facebook page began in 2012 and as of now has more than 200,000 followers on FB. Malaysiakini wrote that the page was last updated on 8 November 2018. That said, if you’re curious, you can check out the page, which is still up on FB, here.
What do you think of this latest development in Najib’s trial? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Also read: Najib Allegedly Used SRC International Money to Renovate Homes & Shop at Chanel
