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It’s official. Najib Razak’s final appeal against a 12-year jail sentence related to the 1MDB scandal must go on after the Federal Court rejected his bid for a retrial of his High Court conviction.
Although the defence expressed "shock and disappointment" at the decision, Najib's son Datuk Nizar Najib has reportedly been earmarked to take over the former premier's Pekan parliamentary seat at the next general election as the conviction disqualifies Najib from contesting.
Despite Umno’s bullishness for the polls, a parliamentary report on the RM9 billion Littoral Combat Ship scandal is threatening to shake up the ruling party’s hierarchy, with president Zahid Hamidi and predecessor Najib, as well as Senior Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein in the firing line.
Protests and calls for royal inquiries have made headlines over the past week as the opposition seized on the fact that not a single vessel has been delivered since six were commissioned in 2011 despite the first being scheduled for launch in 2019.
On Tuesday, former navy chief Ramli Nor, in his capacity as managing director of the contracted firm, became the first person to be charged with graft in relation to the deal.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz has confirmed that all six major mobile service providers have agreed terms for a share in Malaysia’s sole 5G wholesale provider but they must now agree the terms of access.
This includes pricing and quality of service for the superfast next generation network which is the final step in resolving a protracted deadlock that has set the nation behind regional competitors in rolling out the transformative technology.
Najib loses bid to nullify 1MDB trial; final appeal proceeds
The former PM faces 12 years in jail and RM210 million in fines if he fails in his final appeal to overturn the conviction.
LCS scandal bogs down Umno ahead of election
Critics have drawn parallels of the RM9 billion ship contract debacle with Malaysia's embezzlement at state fund 1MDB.
Coming clean on combat ship fiasco is a risky gambit for PM Ismail, Umno
Ismail's call for an independent investigation has been widely interpreted as a move by the PM to distance himself from the senior Umno officials who have been implicated in the scandal.
Ex-navy chief pleads not guilty to 3 charges in LCS scandal
He was charged with approving payments of RM21.08 million to three Singapore-based companies without the agreement of the company’s board of directors.
Protesters gather in KL to condemn ship scandal
Protestors said Malaysia is increasingly becoming known for its bad governance resulting in the loss of billions of ringgit of public funds.
Najib’s son talked up as GE candidate
Nizar (right) is touted to contest his father's seat if the ex-PM is forced to miss out on the election over his graft conviction.
Telcos agree to stakes in 5G vehicle
Finance Minister Zafrul warned that foreign players were "knocking on our doors" to participate in the high-speed mobile network deal.
