Najib's charges not politically motivated: M'sian AG

The corruption charges levelled against former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak yesterday are not politically motivated, said Attorney-General Tommy Thomas.

In dismissing allegations of political persecution, Mr Thomas, who is leading the prosecution, told reporters that his team will be fair and even generous to Najib, The Malay Mail reported.

Yesterday, a day after his arrest on Tuesday, Najib was charged in court with abuse of power and three counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT), in relation to funds linked to SRC International, a former subsidiary of troubled state fund 1MDB that he founded nearly a decade ago.

The abuse of power charge is for allegedly accepting a RM42 million (S$14m) bribe in relation to providing government guarantees for a RM4 billion loan from a pension fund to SRC. The three CBT charges involved sums of RM27 million, RM5 million, and RM10 million belonging to SRC.

For abuse of power, Najib faces jail of up to 20 years and a fine of no less than five times the bribe value.

CBT carries a jail term of two years to 20 years, with possible caning and fines. But Najib, who turns 65 later this month, will be exempted from caning, which applies only to men below 50.

Najib pleaded not guilty to all four charges, which come just eight weeks after he was toppled by new Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in an election during which the missing billions from 1MDB was a key issue.

It was the culmination of a swift and stunning downfall for a premier who had led the country for nearly a decade, Reuters reported.

BAIL

Granted bail of RM1 million (S$337,000), Najib left the court after posting RM500,000, with the rest to be paid on Monday.

He also had to surrender his two passports, including a diplomatic one, to the court.

He told reporters outside the courtroom: "I believe in my innocence and this is the best chance to clear my name."

Najib and his supporters also accused Dr Mahathir's Pakatan Harapan government of persecuting him by blaming him for the 1MDB scandal.

He said in an interview on Tuesday: "This situation and what they have said before means that the new government simply has no choice but to eventually arrest or charge me, even though I did not steal. I maintain that I am innocent as I am not a thief."

Refuting the suggestions of political persecution yesterday, Mr Thomas said that he and his team of 11 deputy public prosecutors and others had concluded that there was a "strong prima facie case" for Najib to answer.

He told reporters: "We have a strong prima facie case which we intend to prove at the trial. We accept that the burden is on us.

"We accept that he is innocent until proven guilty."

Citing the issue of bail as an example the prosecution's fairness to Najib, Mr Thomas said: "You saw we were very, very generous on bail. We did not object to bail as a matter of principle.

"There was disagreement on the quantum of bail, but once the court fixed RM1 million, we did not object to it being paid over two days. We are very fair."

Mr Thomas also did not discount the possibility of more charges arising from the continuing investigations into the 1MDB scandal.

Asked about the purported plans of senior lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is heading Najib's defence team, to have Mr Thomas disqualified from the case, the A-G said: "Let's wait for the application."

Mr Shafee later told a press conference that the defence team was "thinking very seriously" about applying for Mr Thomas' disqualification, claiming that he "had made a prejudgment even before becoming A-G", The Malay Mail reported.

During the hearing, Judge Mohamad Sofian Abdul Razak allowed the defence's request for an interim court order to bar discussions on the merits of the case outside the court, especially in the media.

The gag order will be in place until a hearing on Aug 8.

The trial proper is set for Feb 18 to 28, and March 4 to 8 and 11 to 15 next year.