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
Bangladesh’s Yunus announces resignation, end of interim govt
- Yunus handed over power after congratulating the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its leader Tarique Rahman
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus stepped down on Monday in a farewell broadcast to the nation before handing over to an elected government.
“Today, the interim government is stepping down,” the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner said.
“But let the practice of democracy, freedom of speech, and fundamental rights that has begun not be halted.”
Yunus returned from self-imposed exile in August 2024, days after the iron-fisted government of Sheikh Hasina was overthrown by a student-led uprising and she fled by helicopter to India.
“That was the day of great liberation,” he said. “What a day of joy it was! Bangladeshis across the world shed tears of happiness. The youth of our country freed it from the grip of a demon.”
He has led Bangladesh as its “chief adviser” since, and now hands over power after congratulating the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its leader Tarique Rahman on a “landslide victory” in elections last week.
“The people, voters, political parties, and stakeholder institutions linked to the election have set a commendable example,” Yunus said.
“This election has set a benchmark for future elections.”
Rahman, 60, chief of the BNP and scion of one of the country’s most powerful political dynasties, will lead the South Asian nation of 170 million.
‘Rebuilt institutions’
Bangladeshi voters endorsed sweeping democratic reforms in a national referendum, a key pillar of Yunus’s post-uprising transition agenda, on the same day as the elections.
The lengthy document, known as the “July Charter” after the month when the uprising that toppled Hasina began, proposes term limits for prime ministers, the creation of an upper house of parliament, stronger presidential powers and greater judicial independence.
“We did not start from zero — we started from a deficit,” he said.
“Sweeping away the ruins, we rebuilt institutions and set the course for reforms.”
The referendum noted that approval would make the charter “binding on the parties that win” the election, obliging them to endorse it.
However, several parties raised questions before the vote, and the reforms will still require ratification by the new parliament.
The BNP alliance won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, according to the Election Commission.
Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman conceded on Saturday, saying his party would “serve as a vigilant, principled, and peaceful opposition.”
Newly elected lawmakers are expected to be sworn in on Tuesday, after which Tarique Rahman is set to become Bangladesh’s next prime minister.
Police records show that political clashes during the campaign period killed five people and injured more than 600.
However, despite weeks of turbulence ahead of the polls, voting day passed without major unrest and the country has responded to the results with relative calm.
