In a speech last month, former Deputy PM of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim advised ex-PM Najib Razak to get the best lawyers to fight his upcoming cases.
“Let Najib be investigated and let him be charged.
“My advice to him: Look for a good and intelligent lawyer,” said Anwar to the cheers of the crowd in Penang.
Anwar’s statement clearly indicates that Najib Razak would face charges but the government is not going to rush putting Najib on trial.
“The rule of law must be followed,” he told a crowd where some rowdy elements seemed to think otherwise.
With tact, Anwar tackled the rowdy elements asking them if they were misplaced into thinking that the Pakatan Harapan government was the UMNO-BN regime.
During the speech, Anwar said he did not want to talk about Najib or his wife Rosmah Mansoor. However, some people in the crowd insisted that he touches on the Najib and 1MDB issues.
But Anwar said: “We (Pakatan Harapan) are different. We are not the UMNO-Barisan Nasional regime. You are wrong,” he said to those who wanted swift justice as they grew rowdy.
“To catch people, beat them, and jail them is from a lawless, reckless regime,” he answered with even louder cheers from the crowd.
He added that now, the Pakatan Harapan government cannot follow such lawlessness.
“Now we must follow the process of the law, it is a government for the rule of the law, replacing the laws of the jungle,” he said.
He also said the government wanted a judicial body that was free from political meddling.
“Judges should not become political tools. We cannot tell the judges what to do. They must have all the freedom to decide on their rulings,” he said with the attendance cheering.
“This is what we should expect from a country that follows the laws in this age of ‘reformasi’ (reform)” he said.
Anwar was pardoned a week after the electoral victory of the Pakatan Harapan coalition.
The Malaysian royal pardon has cleared him of all former convictions since 1998, making him a blameless person in the eyes of the law.