Najib Tells PH To Not Compare Sam's Case With His & Use It As Capital For Racial Politics
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the Opposition should point fingers at themselves as it was then Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas who allowed the prosecution to file an appeal in the 'basikal lajak' case in 2019.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 15 Apr 2022, 11:05 AM
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has defended himself after the Opposition made comparisons between the 'basikal lajak' case with his corruption case
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, 13 April, the Pekan member of parliament (MP) asked, "Adoi! Sam Ke Ting denied bail is also Najib's fault?"
Najib accused DAP and Pakatan Harapan (PH) of instigating the public against him after Sam was not granted a stay of execution and was sent to prison immediately while he is able to walk freely despite his corruption conviction.
"The intentions of the gang over there are very clear. They want to use this case as capital for racial politics of (pitting the) Chinese against Malays and link it to me so people will hate me," he said in the post, which has since garnered over 15,000 likes.
"This is wrong. This case should not be seen from a racial perspective. This case is a tragedy involving a young woman and the death of eight youths."
"Please don't turn this tragedy into capital for the politics of race and hatred. Grow up, please. The decision not to offer bail to Sam has nothing to do with me nor the government."
Najib said he was not the only politician who was granted a stay of execution, noting that Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was given the same treatment in 2014
He shared that Anwar was granted bail in May 2014 despite being convicted of sodomy, which the latter went on to campaign in the Kajang by-election.
"Why question me if Anwar enjoyed the same treatment? Why not link Sam's case to Anwar's case?" Najib asked.
It is worth noting that although Najib pleaded to the Opposition to not use Sam's case to push their political agenda, Malaysiakini reported that UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had in November 2019 said the 'basikal lajak' case is an example of how the law is being abused under PH's watch.
The news portal reported that public criticism of the court ruling at the time — when Sam was first acquitted in October 2019 — was focused on her Chinese ethnicity.
Additionally, Najib also asked why the Opposition did not point the fingers at themselves as it was then Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas who allowed the prosecution to file an appeal in Sam's case
"And why the gang on the other side do not blame Tommy Thomas, who filed an appeal against the first court decision to acquit Sam in 2019?" he continued.
Sam, who was charged with reckless driving that resulted in the death of eight teenagers on the early morning of 18 February 2017 was acquitted by the Magistrates' Court in October 2019.
However, she was ordered to enter defence in February 2021 by the Johor Bahru High Court.
During the period, Pakatan Harapan (PH) was the government and Tommy was the head of the Attorney General Chamber (AGC).
Malaysia Gazette reported that the prosecution team was not satisfied with the Magistrates' Court's decision at that time and filed an appeal in court on 10 November 2019 seeking to squash Sam's acquittal.
Although the Magistrates' Court upheld its decision on 10 October 2021, AG Tan Sri Idrus Harun had on the next day announced that AGC would file an appeal against the court's deicision.
It was the second appeal that led the Johor Bahru High Court to sentence Sam to six years in jail and fine RM6,000 on Wednesday.
Sam Ke Ting at the Johor Bahru Magistrate's Court after she was acquitted and discharged from the case on 28 October 2019.
Image via New Straits TimesNajib said he, as well as his supporters, do not agree with the decision of the High Court in Sam's case
"I also hope that Sam will also get a fair trial," he wrote.
"You can agree or disagree with a judge's decision but this is the national legal system."
He went on to say that he also disagrees with his conviction in the SRC International case where he was found guilty of embezzling RM42 million.
"Like it or not, that's our legal system," he lamented.
