PETALING JAYA: Former DAP assemblyman of Skudai, Marina Ibrahim (pic), has claimed that a senior party leader had privately expressed support for former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s house arrest bid, despite publicly opposing the matter.
This conversation became the turning point that caused her to lose faith in politics, she said.
She claimed that the conversation took place during a meeting at a community clothing shop in Skudai on April 12.
The leader, who had previously been vocal in criticising Najib, told her there was “nothing wrong” with allowing the former prime minister to serve his sentence under house arrest because of his past contributions, she wrote in a lengthy social media post on Tuesday – dismissing talk that her decision to leave politics was due to her being moved to another constituency.
Marina announced on May 31 that she was stepping away from active politics and would not be contesting in the Johor state polls.
In her post, she also claimed the leader said it would be preferable for Najib to receive a royal pardon after the next general election.
“If Najib is pardoned before the election, the Chinese community’s trust in us will decline,” she quoted the leader as saying.
Marina alleged that the leader had discussed managing public perception at the party’s special congress and how some people could resign from ministerial posts if Najib were pardoned too early.
“To me, it sounded more like a political performance,” she said.
She also questioned why DAP leaders had only recently begun raising the issue of Najib’s pardon after Johor Umno announced it would not cooperate with DAP in the Johor election.
“If DAP truly regarded this as a red line that could not be compromised, why did it continue hoping to cooperate with Barisan Nasional over the past four years?” she asked.
Marina accused political leaders of applying double standards, saying actions once condemned became acceptable when committed by their own side.
“Previously, when others did it, we said it was wrong. Today, when we do the same thing, suddenly it becomes right,” she wrote.
She also questioned whether politicians had begun manipulating public trust as part of their political strategy, saying principles appeared to change according to political circumstances.
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