YOURSAY | After four long years, justice is at hand

YOURSAY | ‘Let's hope justice prevails and the judges do their duty fearlessly.’

SRC evidence bid: Chief justice heads 5-person bench

Way To Go: It is said ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’, but in former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s case, justice was delayed not by the courts but by him putting off the court hearings as long as possible.

Meanwhile, he lived a king’s life, as the ‘poster boy’ of the backdoor regime and Umno's social media idol, keeping at bay the inevitable – the verdict.

That much can be said of Najib’s cry of innocence and victimisation. He has finally been dragged to the last episode that will decide his fate one way or another.

Whatever it is, Najib stands convicted in the court of public opinion. Not only in this case, but also in others where justice was not seen to be done by virtue of his unfettered political power.

This case is significant in that 1MDB lined up an international cast where our hard-earned monies were squandered on foreign land making foreigners millionaires and billionaires at the expense of long-suffering Malaysians.

Credit is due to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and media like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Sarawak Report that doggedly clung on to expose this daylight heist. Malaysia became world-renowned as a worst-case kleptocracy.

Malaysians have put their trust and faith in the esteemed Federal Court in the hope that justice is meted fairly. We also stand on the podium of an international audience that keenly awaits the verdict.

Malaysians deserve praise for the mammoth task of ridding the kleptocracy at the 14th general elections. If not for it, 1MDB would never have been exposed and its conspirators never brought to justice. The country would have been doomed.

We need to bring to closure the 1MDB saga that has taken a toll like no other on the people and country. The people await with bated breath.

OCT: Whatever decision by the Federal Court will be just. Najib has been given much more leeway than any other convicted felon.

The court has allowed numerous postponements in this and related cases that range from ‘dog bit hand’, red eye, Covid-19, attending grandson’s birth in Singapore and even sending lead counsel’s son overseas to study, to name a few.

Najib is perhaps the only convicted felon in the world who is provided with a police escort. A policeman is seen kissing his hand. He gets full pay, benefits, perks, allowance, benefits and even asked for his entitlement of RM100 million house for his disastrous service to the government.

He behaves like a rock star and poster boy for his party. He was even invited to give a keynote address at an international conference. Nowhere in the world has such a convicted felon.

Vijay47: And finally, after many counts of illness to self and staff, family commitments, encounters with playful dogs, and tea with Queen Elizabeth, the moment of reckoning is at hand. Almost at hand.

It was a learning curve for all of us, offering insights into the judiciary, and glimpses of Najib’s self-induced perception of the Malaysian legal system, which he seems to believe permits him to make all kinds of allegations about judges which he can withdraw when they catch his fancy.

Yet despite all the liberties he enjoyed, my personal belief is that for him, the worst is yet to come. In comparison, being termed a national embarrassment would be a mere mild reprimand.

The chickens are coming home to roost. Get the sauce ready, the gander and goose are going to be cooked. The curtain then falls, and the circus leaves town. What a double celebration for the embarrassed nation. Selamat Merdeka, everyone!

Dr Raman Letchumanan: Malaysia's future is at stake and at a crucial turning point. Only the Federal Court can save the country from the brink of collapse - politically, economically, and socially - and become a failed country and a laughing stock of the world.

If we miss this opportunity, no one else can save this country - the reformed government, the fractious opposition, the rakyat who are cowed and threatened by the kleptocrats and shenanigans and not able to exercise free choice, and certainly not the aged and veteran has-beens, who brought this country to its knees and clamouring to burn it down to ashes.

Apache: Federal Court judges, please help to strengthen our rule of law, accountability and responsibility in the eyes of the world. Corruption and stealing public funds are never acceptable.

Many of Najib’s accomplices are charged, fined and jailed. Some are on the Interpol alert list and on the run.

The whole nation and world are waiting for fair judgment. Poor mothers who stole tins of milk were jailed whilst someone who allegedly stole billions is still walking free.

World Citizen: Punishment must be meted out where it is due, without fear or favour and irrespective of positions people hold. Let the country move on from this ugly episode and not be mired in this scandal for the rest of our lives.

Ordinary Malaysians face the maximum brunt of the law, sometimes even unfairly. Laws must be applied equally or we will become a banana republic.

Let's hope justice prevails and the judges do their duty fearlessly for the sake of the country, its Constitution and our future generations.

Cogito Ergo Sum: These five Federal Court judges will determine the course of this nation. Upon their shoulders rest this huge weight of deciding which path this nation takes.

Politicians have misruled and abused their powers in both the executive and legislative branches of government. It is now left to the judiciary to take us back to some semblance of rational thinking and provide hope for millions on the brink as a result of the unchecked kleptocracy.

This is it. There is no turning back. The moment of truth not just for the accused, but for an entire nation of 30 million.

The hopes and destiny of the nation hinge on the five. Let them have clarity in thought and reasoning in coming to a decisive judgment that will forever alter the course and purpose of Malaysia.

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