On August 16, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had his application to produce new evidence in his final appeal rejected by the Federal Court. The evidence were to reveal that Judge Nazlan Ghazali, who in 2020 found him guilty of corruption charges, was biased against him.
The court also rejected a request by Najib’s lawyers to postpone the trial by 4 months so that they could have more time to prepare.
Following the news, Najib himself has expressed his displeasure over it as he said that “(he) was truly disappointed and shocked.”
“The new evidence clearly shows that it has value which could’ve been accepted by the court, but it didn’t happen.”
Offer of support
Following the decision, UMNO President Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has urged the party to show its support for Najib during his “difficult” SRC International appeal in the Federal Court.
In a Facebook post, Zahid Hamidi said that although the Federal Court’s decision to reject Najib’s bid to adduce fresh evidence should be respected, this does not prevent the public, UMNO members and leaders from showing their solidarity with former UMNO president Najib.
“Justice is indeed a long road. There’s a saying that there are three types of truth. Your truth, my truth and the truth. Truth is God’s Word.”
He also urged party members and supporters to stand in solidarity with Najib.
“Let us continue to be united in solidarity with Najib. Don’t give up. Be patient and keep fighting with us. His contribution and service to UMNO, BN and the BN government will never be erased from our nation’s history,” he wrote.
Zahid also said that Najib had defended UMNO from attempts to “bury the party” when Pakatan Harapan governed the country, and that he also helped to restore the party’s image thanks to his arguments based on “data and facts”, which he presented to his strong social media following.
He also added that Najib had also played a pivotal role in helping UMNO and BN win the Sabah, Melaka and Johor state polls in recent times.
What do you think of this?
Also read: “I’m disappointed” – Court Rejects Najib’s Application To Produce New Evidence For SRC Case
