I will not flinch an inch, says Najib ahead of final SRC appeal

KUALA LUMPUR: The fact that his last throw of the dice in avoiding jail time is upon him, Datuk Seri Najib Razak appeared undeterred and opted to speak at the Wanita Barisan Nasional convention.

The former prime minister, whose final appeal against his conviction in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case starts today, said he would not “flinch an inch”.

“Tomorrow is important for me as it is the final appeal at the Federal Court. Although today I was supposed to be busy with my lawyers, I chose to be with Wanita,” he said at the convention yesterday.

Najib, who is also the Barisan advisory board chairman, said he wanted the delegates to understand that as a leader, he was with them.

“No matter what they do, no matter the cruelty inflicted upon me, my wife and my family, I will stand firm and not flinch an inch and fight alongside Wanita.

“We will ensure Barisan Nasional win the 15th General Election (GE15),” said Najib, who was present at the convention together with his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

GE15 must be called by July next year at the latest.

On July 28, 2020, High Court judge Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali (now a Court of Appeal judge) convicted and sentenced Najib on seven charges involving criminal breach of trust (CBT), money laundering and abuse of position, involving SRC funds, totalling RM42mil.

He was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and a fine of RM210mil.

The conviction and sentence were upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Najib’s final appeal at the Federal Court will be heard from Aug 15-19 and Aug 23-26.

Touching on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) issue, he said the Opposition was trying to play up the scandal ahead of GE15 just as it did with the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.

He said he had been using his Facebook page to rebut any allegations whenever there was an attempt by the Opposition to “incite”.

“I raised six questions, but they did not answer,” he said, adding that the Opposition’s intention was to blame Barisan.

“I admit that there were delays. It is not easy to make an advanced combat ship.

“This is not a yacht or a cruise ship,” he said, adding that such delays happen in advanced countries as well.

None of the ships has been completed so far, although five should have been delivered by this month, the Public Accounts Committee revealed in Parliament.

Najib also questioned the status of the Penang tunnel project linked to DAP leader Lim Guan Eng.