KUALA LUMPUR: Jailed former Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday issued a rare apology for his mishandling of the multibillion-dollar 1MDB financial scandal, but maintained he had no knowledge of illegal transfers from the now-defunct state fund.
1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a sovereign wealth fund co-founded by Najib in 2009 while he was premier, has faced corruption probes in at least six countries over the alleged misappropriation of over $4.5 billion by high-level officials of the fund and their associates.
Malaysia’s top court in 2022 upheld a guilty verdict against Najib for corruption and money laundering for illegally receiving about $10 million from former 1MDB unit SRC International, sentencing him to 12 years in prison. The sentence was later halved by a pardons board chaired by Malaysia’s former king.
Najib, 71, has consistently denied wrongdoing and on Thursday expressed remorse about the 1MDB scandal in a letter read at a press conference by his son, Mohamad Nizar Mohd Najib.
“It pains me every day to know that the 1MDB debacle happened under my watch as minister of finance and prime minister,” the former premier said, according to the letter.
“For that, I would like to apologize unreservedly to the Malaysian people.”
Najib said while he initiated investigations into 1MDB, he should have acted differently when questions about its dealings first arose, adding his concerns at the time were its finances and the diplomatic risks the scandal posed.
Malaysian anti-graft investigators have previously said their probes into 1MDB during Najib’s tenure had been blocked, with witnesses disappearing and death threats made against them.
‘DEEP SHOCK’
Najib’s statement comes just days after Malaysia, in its budget plans for 2025, said it would propose a new law that would allow house arrest as an alternative punishment for certain offenses.
Najib has been pushing to serve the remainder of his sentence at home and is seeking to compel the government to confirm the existence of a royal order that he says came with the pardon and recommended house arrest for him.
Najib said he was still “in deep shock” and deeply regretted the 1MDB scandal but maintained his innocence, citing a news report alleging that fugitive businessman Jho Low and two executives at Saudi oil firm Petrosaudi colluded to siphon SRC funds without the ex-premier’s knowledge in 2009 and 2010.
Low faces charges in the United States and Malaysia for his alleged central role in the scandal, while the two Petrosaudi executives were convicted by a Swiss court in August for embezzling 1MDB funds. The three men had denied wrongdoing.
“Being held legally responsible for things that I did not initiate or knowingly enable is unfair to me and I hope and pray that the judicial process will, in the end, prove my innocence,” Najib said.
Authorities have said Najib received more than $1 billion traceable to 1MDB, including a $681 million transfer in 2013. He has denied that.
Najib faces several other graft trials. A Malaysian court is set to determine on Oct. 30 whether to acquit him or ask him to enter his defense on money laundering and corruption charges in a 1MDB-related case.
Malaysia’s jailed ex-PM Najib apologizes for mishandling of 1MDB scandal
https://arab.news/cftcd
Malaysia’s jailed ex-PM Najib apologizes for mishandling of 1MDB scandal
- But former leader maintained he had no knowledge of illegal transfers from the now-defunct state fund
- Malaysia’s top court in 2022 upheld a guilty verdict against Najib for corruption and money laundering
France to vaccinate cattle for lumpy skin disease as farmers protest against cull
- The announcement comes after several outbreaks of the highly contagious disease prompted authorities to order the culling of entire herds
PARIS: France will vaccinate 1 million head of cattle in the coming weeks against lumpy skin disease, Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard said on Saturday, as protesting farmers blocked roads in opposition to the government’s large-scale culling policy.
The announcement comes after several outbreaks of the highly contagious disease prompted authorities to order the culling of entire herds, sparking demonstrations by farmers who consider the measure excessive.
Lumpy skin disease is a virus spread by insects that affects cattle and buffalo, causing blisters and reducing milk production. While not harmful to humans, it often results in trade restrictions and severe economic losses.
“We will vaccinate nearly one million animals in the coming weeks and protect farmers. I want to reiterate that the state will stand by affected farmers, their losses will be compensated as well as their operating losses,” Genevard told local radio network ICI.
France says that total culling of infected herds, alongside vaccination and movement restrictions, is necessary to contain the disease and allow cattle exports. If the disease continues to spread in livestock farms, it could kill “at the very least, 1.5 million cattle,” Genevard told Le Parisien daily in a previous interview.
A portion of the A64 motorway south of Toulouse remained blocked since Friday afternoon, with about 400 farmers and some 60 tractors still in place on Saturday morning, according to local media.
The government, backed by the main FNSEA farming union, maintains that total culling of infected herds is necessary to prevent the disease from spreading and triggering export bans that would devastate the sector.
But the Coordination Rurale, a rival union, opposes the systematic culling approach, calling instead for targeted measures and quarantine protocols.
“Vaccination will be mandatory because vaccination is protection against the disease,” Genevard said, adding that complete culling remains necessary in some cases because the disease can be asymptomatic and undetectable.
France detected 110 outbreaks across nine departments and culled about 3,000 animals, according to the agriculture ministry. It has paid nearly six million euros to farmers since the first outbreak on June 29.
