Asian top news of the times - Najib

Mention 1MDB and words like Malaysia, Najib, MO1, Jho Low, money laundering and even USA’s DOJ (Department Of Justice) will come into one’s mind. It is so. because of the consistent frequency of those words being printed and mentioned in local and international media, over the past few years. Other words, too, may appear in one’s mind like Rosmah, hand bags, jewels, watches and so on, but that is for another day! (wink).

To be precise, during these past few years, seven criminal cases were filed against the former Prime Minister, Najib, in regards to 1MDB. On Tuesday, July 28, 2020, the Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge, Mohamad Nazlan found the former and 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato Seri Najib Abdul Razak, guilty on all seven criminal cases, that were brought up against him. Three cases were for criminal breach of trust, three cases were for money laundering and one case was for abuse for power. All the cases were connected to SRC International, a commercial unit of the frequently mentioned investment company, 1MDB, said to be the brainchild of Najib. Mr Najib was sentenced to 12 years jail for abuse of power, and 10 years each for the rest of the 6 cases. 

What? A total of 72 years? Will Najib last that long, you may ask, having pondered in your mind. I, too. Pondered, I mean! I rechecked the news. 

Actually, I was relieved. Najib was sentenced to 12 years in jail with a fine of RM210 million or about 49 million US Dollars. The Judge had ordered the jail term to run concurrently, as the seven cases were interlinked. I did check the word ‘concurrently’ in the dictionary. It said – at the same or simultaneously.

Phew! What an escape for Najib, and what a relief for me. A relief for me, because, I did not like Najib, a former Prime Minister of my lovely nation, Malaysia, to make prison as his first home for an endless 72 years. To me, once a normal person becomes a politician, he, involuntarily, becomes a crook. He pursues and practices various techniques to hold on to power and money. All of them, them politicians, become adapted to it. Sorry, that is how I feel. No, correction. I am not sorry at all I feel that way! It's the way it is.

Coming back to Najib, he is no different from all the others. Najib claims he did not know how that huge sum of money came into his account. RM42 million or 10 million US Dollars, is not a small sum! Maybe, so much money was moving here and there into his accounts, and poor Najib, didn’t know where to check. Ha ha! what a joke! Thank you, Najib, sir.

And a big thank you for starting the BR1M - Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia , a cash payment scheme for the Malaysian people, which is still being followed by subsequent governments. If not for anything else, the people of Malaysia will still remember you for that, the BR1M scheme. And 1Malaysia.

By the way, Najib is not going to jail, straightaway. He is still a free man, pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal. His lead defense lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has applied for a stay of execution for both the jail term and the fine, and the Judge had granted it. Najib had been slapped with a bail amount of RM2 million or about 500,000 US Dollars in two sureties.

Najib is not completely free, though. He may visit various places of attraction within Malaysia, but of those visits, two visits in a month should be to the nearest police station!

Murder in Malaysia (old post, revisited)

The news of the murders in Banting, a district of Kuala Langat in Selangor, of Cosmetics millionairess, Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya, 47 of Gombak, Selangor together with 3 others, namely, Noohisham, 38 (bank officer), Ahmad Kamil, 32 (lawyer) and Kamaruddin, 44 (driver for Sosilawati), has pushed back all other noteworthy news in Malaysia for these past few days. News of the appointment of the new Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Ismail bin omar, the Hari Raya celebrations and, to an extent, even the installation of the Sultan of Kelantan went almost unnoticed.

It all started on the 6th September 2010, with the police saying that they had received report of their disappearance, since 30th August, by the families concerned.

The police were efficient in their investigations, and they were able to confirm, a few days later, that they had been murdered, and their bodies burnt in a plantation site called, Ladang Gadong, Tanjong Sepat. Their ashes were said to have been thrown in the river, nearby.

Two lawyer brothers, 38 and 41, who were said to be main culprits have been arrested. They were also said to be involved in the strange disappearances of a few other people of note, which the police are, vigorously,  reinvestigating.

It has been concluded that money, in the millions was involved, and that, basically, it was the result of a business dealing gone awry.

It is hoped the criminals who so mercilessly took away the precious God-given lives would be swiftly brought to justice. The punishment should be really and truly be a deterrent to the other would be murderers.

(On March 16, 2017, former lawyer Pathmanabhan, 47 and farm workers Thilaiyalagan, 25 and Kathavarayan, 37, were found guilty of the gruesome murders of Sosilawati and her three aides by five panels of judges led by Chief Justice Tun Arifin zakaria of the Malaysian Federal Court, and were sentenced to death).

Another thing, a real head scratcher; nowhere, was it mentioned, outright, how the four of them were killed before being burnt. One Malaysian Daily mentioned that Noohisham's DNA was found on a cricket bat, and the others' DNA profiles were found on blood stains on zinc sheets.

Ingenuity in the fight against the Covid-19 virus

   

The secret to overcome the ever-increasing covid-19 pandemic? It is here. See the picture below.

         

Ah, well! Malaysia has been successful in fighting off the covid-19 virus pandemic. Over here, even the robotic type flagman wears the face mask! Ha ha ha! But seriously, this is just reminding and emphasizing on how important and necessary the wearing of a mask is. That image will, surely, stick in children's mind, and, perhaps, in adults' minds, too, and encourage them to wear the masks. A pat on the back for the person who got this innovative idea!... PAT!