20 Apr 2024, 05:35 Kuching
19 Apr 2024, 22:35 London
Former prime minister Najib Razak says Pakatan Harapan had failed to prove that he was involved in the bribery scandal linked to the procurement of submarines from France in 2002.
Najib said PH’s investigation in 2018 did not find any evidence that he was involved in the deal, adding that it was a part of the opposition’s propaganda to tarnish his image.
He said PH also tried to link him with the 2006 murder of Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu by two police officers of the Special Action Unit (UTK) who were previously his bodyguards.
In a Facebook post, Najib explained that while he was the defence minister when the deal was signed to buy two Scorpene-class submarines from French defence equipment manufacturing group Thales, it was the former prime minister (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) who made the purchase in a deal worth US$1.2 billion.
“It was not me who negotiated the deal. It was the 4th prime minister who selected the submarines and negotiated the deal,” he said.
This comes after a report that a French court had charged Thales with complicity in bribery over the purchase of the submarines.
Malaysians deserve better protection against the delusional self-justifications of a convicted mega-crook, now years after he should have been banged up to confront his own demons.
Nothing is Najib’s fault, according to Najib. He held the top job and took credit for everything that went well, but denies all that went wrong and all that he did wrong.
And there was a lot he did wrong. Proof is never enough for the great denier. The reason Thales has been convicted of bribery is laid out very clearly in the French court papers. They have been convicted of bribing him as the known recipient of the €119 million that was paid in bogus ‘consultancy fees’ to a company fronted by his appointed side-kick, Razak Baginda.
If Najib hadn’t been judged guilty of receiving the bribe then Thales would not have been found guilty of delivering it. Period.
Najib was merely acting true to form, as the crook he has proven himself to be time and again over 1MDB. And speaking of murder, since Najib raised that matter also, Razak Baginda was also the front man when it came to the brutal killing of the woman who threatened to expose this very Scorpene bribe. Altantuya may have been standing outside Baginda’s house and Baginda may have been the person claimed to be her lover cum handler by that stage. However, it is Najib’s bodyguard who did the deed and who has testified that he was ordered to do so personally by Najib who explained to him she was a ‘foreign spy’ and needed to be …. at which point the PM gestured with a slit throat action, says Azilah Hadri.
Azilah and his junior are documented as having indeed sped direct from Najib’s house (they say straight after this meeting and instruction) to scoop Altantuya off the street, bundle her into their government vehicle and later murder her in cold blood. It is also documented that Najib later expended huge amounts of energy in attempting to shut up a witness to all that happened, PI Bala, who testified to many aspects of this case including the fact that Altantuya was indeed stating that Najib was involved in the corruption and had also been her lover.
However, Najib still brazenly claims that he is proven innocent. Malaysians need to be spared his poisonous self-promotion, funded by their own stolen cash. Justice should be served and he should be removed from spreading his toxic and cancerous lies that only harm his country further.
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