Malaysia's Najib Razak fails in final attempt to set aside 1MDB-linked corruption conviction
Disgraced former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak on Friday failed in his latest bid to quash his corruption conviction linked to a former unit of scandal-tainted state fund 1MDB, as the country's highest court upheld its decision to send him to jail last August.
Last year, Najib earned the dubious distinction of being the nation's first former premier to be jailed after the Federal Court maintained his 2020 conviction for misappropriating 27 million ringgit (US$6.1 million) in funds from SRC International.
With the latest verdict, Najib will continue to serve his 12-year prison sentence.
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In a ruling that was split 4-1 among the five-member bench, the Federal Court found that Najib had failed on all three counts in his challenge to set aside his conviction.
In his application, Najib had submitted additional evidence to bolster his assertion of conflict of interest in the involvement of High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who convicted the former prime minister in 2020.
Najib had also sought to challenge the Federal Court's decision to proceed with his earlier appeal despite his counsel applying to withdraw from the case due to unreadiness, adding that he was denied natural justice.
"There has been no prejudice and no failure of justice," said Justice Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, who chaired the bench, when reading out their judgment.
The judge said Najib's counsel had repeatedly declined the opportunity to represent his client in court.
"The applicant is the author of his own misfortune," he added.
Friday's decision means Najib has exhausted all his legal avenues to set aside his conviction. The only way he can secure an early release is if he receives a royal pardon from the king.
The Federal Court's ruling also puts a pin in any lingering hopes of a political comeback by Najib, a one-time star of Malaysian politics whose scandal-tainted administration lost elections in 2018.
That was watershed moment for Malaysia, which saw its first-ever change of government since gaining independence from British rule in 1957, on the back of public anger over 1MDB and allegations of rampant corruption amid rising living costs.
The 1MDB scandal outraged Malaysians with its billions of dollars of losses.
Najib is accused of being at the heart of the scandal - a bond-raising venture that Malaysian and US authorities now believe led to US$4.5 billion vanishing into the pockets of officials, their friends and fixers.
His wife Rosmah Mansor, who was found guilty of graft last year, also attended the proceedings.
Najib's supporters, who gathered outside the Putrajaya courthouse chanting "free Bossku" ("my boss" in Malay), were left in tears following the judgment.
Some of them chartered a bus from Najib's former constituency of Pekan, 300km away, to travel to the capital.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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