Najib eats birthday cake outside courtroom and reformasi call is heard in Kuala Lumpur

Ex-PM Najib Razak had a surprise birthday party outside the Court in Kuala Lumpur when he was mobbed by a group of supporters.

They offered him a birthday cake and the visibly stunned Najib ate a piece of the cake amid chants of ‘Happy Birthday’.

He thanked the crowd for the gesture and then proceeded to the court where he was met with another surprise.

The judge in Najib’s case has granted the ex-PM access to details pertaining to his bank accounts.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has no power to prevent him from getting information about the bank accounts, the High Court ruled.

Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali said there were no provisions under the law or the MACC Act which empowered the agency to prevent the accused from having access to the information.

The former prime minister’s lead counsel, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, had said the MACC is victimising his client and is abusing its powers.

“This is oppressive, clear abuse of power and a victimisation by the MACC against Najib,” he says.

The lawyer had earlier complained that the graft busters had blocked his client’s access to information about his own bank accounts without any basis of any law.

Najib, who turns 66 today (Tuesday July 23), is facing charges of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering involving RM42 million of SRC International funds and faces 20 years jail and fine for the offences.

Reformasi is back

The day is also one of contrast in Kuala Lumpur where the famous ‘reformasi’ call was heard in the streets once again.

This time, it is for the freeing of Anwar Ibrahim’s aide Farhash Wafa Salvador who was released today from jail in relation to the gay-sex video involving a minister in Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s cabinet.

A few hundred supporters were waiting for his release as they shouted ‘reformasi’, carrying the Parti Keadilan Rakyat banners with the famous words ‘Lawan Tetap Lawan’ which translates to – fight and don’t stop fighting – written on them.

Farhash delivered a fiery speech in which he said the Malaysian police chief should instead arrest Azmin Ali the Minister of Economic Affairs instead of arresting him.

He also coined a phrase at the end of his speech saying ‘If the law becomes injustice, Reformasi becomes the justice’ to the cheers of the crowd who began shouting ‘reformasi’. -/TISG