‘I am not perfect, I am only human’: Najib Razak releases pre-recorded message following arrest
By Low Zoey
03 Jul 2018 11:58PM (Updated: 04 Jul 2018 02:28AM)
KUALA LUMPUR: “I am not perfect, I am only human. However, please believe that these accusations levelled against me and my family are not all true,” said former Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak.
In a pre-recorded video message released on his Twitter and Facebook page several hours after his arrest on Tuesday (Jul 3), Najib reminded Malaysians that none of the investigations into the accusations directed at him and his family have proven conclusive so far.
“I have tried my very best but I realise that it isn’t enough,” he said.
His video message to Malaysians appears to have been recorded in advance, and meant to be released in the event of an arrest.
“My dear Malaysians, if you are listening to this message, it means that actions have been taken against me,” he said.
“There has been a lot of fake news and images spread, many of them false, convoluted and slanderous. Let investigations be conducted first, I have not had the chance to defend myself,” he explained.
In his message, Najib, whose nine-year premiership came to an abrupt end on May 9, said while he was not perfect, he has been a victim of speculation and rumours, containing accusations he said “were not all true”.
"It’s true, our home was raided for days. Yes, I am being investigated and there are goods that have been confiscated. However, none of this is conclusive. There is a lot of news going around, pictures being spread, that are rumourous, false, twisted and slanderous,” he said.
Najib, saying everyone is equal in the eyes of the law, also spoke of divine justice awaiting those who spread “slander”.
“Nobody can escape, not even those in power today, or those who spread rumours while shaming others,” he said.
Since his defeat two weeks ago, Najib and his family members have been the target of police raids, with shocking images of luxury items and bags filled with cash worth millions of dollars seized from his properties linked to him.
He said he was grateful that he was made to face the “the trials of this world”.
“Not everyone has the opportunity to endure worldly trials. We all know that the trials of the afterlife are far more difficult to endure. I will face them firmly,” he said.
“Truly, Almighty Allah is all-knowing, all-merciful and all-compassionate.”
July 3, 2018
Najib: From powerful PM to graft suspect
AFP
KUALA LUMPUR: From prime minister two months ago to key suspect in a massive corruption scandal, Najib Razak’s stunning fall from grace has been swift and hard.
Since his shock election defeat in May, Najib has faced a tightening noose as the new government headed by his former mentor Dr Mahathir Mohamad ramped up investigations into allegations of graft and excess that have hung over him and his wife Rosmah Mansor for years.
The bland patrician son of one of Malaysia’s founding fathers, Najib, 64, had been groomed for the prime minister’s post from young.
When he took over in 2009, Najib initially presented himself as a reformer.
He made limited changes such as replacing security laws widely criticised as stifling dissent, offering a glimmer of hope for the end to repressive tactics by the once-invincible coalition that had held power for six decades.
But the UK-educated Najib was seen by many as an aloof elitist with little understanding of Malaysia’s common citizenry, a perception accentuated by frequent tone-deaf gaffes and policies such as the 2015 introduction of a sales tax unpopular with the poor and now set to be eliminated.
Rosmah, meanwhile, was a constant lightning rod for critics due to her imperious manner and elaborately coiffed mane of hair, which she once complained cost her RM1,200 per house-call from stylists. Malaysia’s minimum monthly wage at the time was RM900.
That and similar episodes caused her to be reviled in a multi-cultural country where most of the population are modest-living Muslims.
‘Cash is king’
Prime Minister Mahathir has said Najib told him in a private conversation in 2015 that “cash is king” in maintaining political support, a phrase that opponents have turned against Najib as a sign of his hubris and corruption.
Money and power seemed to work as a firewall against Najib through a scandal involving the 2002 purchase of French submarines while he was defence minister, a deal brokered by a close associate of his.
Allegations later emerged of huge kickbacks to Malaysian officials to secure the deal, and the scandal was punctuated by the murder of a Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was involved in the negotiations.
Her body was blown up near Kuala Lumpur using military-grade explosives.
Two officers in a special unit that guarded Malaysian ministers were convicted of the killing, but suspicion that Najib and Rosmah were involved has hovered for years, with Najib at one point being forced to deny he had an affair with the 28-year-old Altantuya.
But the final straw was 1MDB, (1Malaysia Development Berhad), the fund Najib launched to promote economic development.
Soon after Najib won a second term in 2013, 1MDB slid into a massive debt hole and allegations surfaced that money was missing.
Public disgust with reports that began to emerge four years ago detailing the plundering of the sovereign wealth fund snowballed into the Mahathir-led electoral tsunami that now has Najib in police cross-hairs.
Billions of dollars are said to be missing in the scandal, nearly US$700 million of which was deposited into Najib’s bank account alone.
US authorities say Najib’s entourage used hundreds of millions in diverted 1MDB funds to purchase high-end real estate in Beverly Hills, New York and London, a Monet painting for US$35 million, a US$5.5 million Van Gogh, a US$35 million Bombardier jet and to finance the 2013 Hollywood film “The Wolf of Wall Street”, which was produced by his stepson Riza Aziz.
A 2015 investigative report by the New York Times also alleged that millions of dollars were used to purchase jewellery for Rosmah.
In a speech last year, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions criticised those allegedly involved in the scandal, adding: “This is kleptocracy at its worst.”
Najib steadfastly denied wrongdoing, while persecuting his accusers and shutting down media outlets that reported on the affair.
Having now lost the protection of power, Najib and Rosmah face a growing public groundswell to see them jailed.
As if sensing this, the once-defiant Najib tweeted after the election: “I apologise for any shortcomings and mistakes.”
