Attempts made to discredit judge's impartiality after SRC ruling
Attempts are being made to discredit the credibility and impartiality of Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali after he ruled that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was guilty of all seven charges against him in the SRC International case.
Among the allegations being peddled on social media, was that Nazlan, aged 51, is either the grandson or grandnephew of Najib's archrival Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Attempts are being made to discredit the credibility and impartiality of Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali after he ruled that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was guilty of all seven charges against him in the SRC International case.
Among the allegations being peddled on social media, was that Nazlan, aged 51, is either the grandson or grandnephew of Najib's archrival Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
One of those who made such allegations was Pertubuhan Minda dan Sosial Prihatin Malaysia president Ramesh Rao, who is a Najib stalwart.
A tweet he made claiming this, has over 200 retweets as of writing.
When contacted, Mahathir's eldest child Marina, 63, said such claims were untrue.
"We should be flattered that they think such a learned judge is related to us but he’s not," she told Malaysiakini.
The nonagenarian's eldest grandchild is 33-years-old.
Lawyer New Sin Yew confirmed with Malaysiakini that such messages could be liable for contempt of court.
Besides the Mahathir claim, others trying to discredit Nazlan are also highlighting that he was one of the judges who acquitted and discharged DAP representative P Gunasekaran on two charges of supporting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorist group.
The ruling was made after the prosecution informed the court they had received instruction from the Attorney General's Chambers to discontinue proceedings against the accused.
The insinuation appears to be an attempt to link Nazlan to DAP.
Najib was charged for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust, and money laundering in regards to RM42 million in gratification he received from SRC International.
In his verdict today, the judge ruled, among others, that it was “far-fetched and self-serving” to claim that the former premier was duped by fugitive businessperson Jho Low.
Nazlan also dismissed the claim that the monies in Najib's bank accounts were a donation, saying that as the former premier he did not make the effort to verify the letter from the Saudi royalty, who was the said donor.
He also noted that Najib did not send King Abdullah a thank-you note.
He sentenced Najib to serve a 12-year concurrent jail term and fined him RM210 million.
The judge allowed a stay of execution, but raise the bail amount by RM1 million.
Additional reporting by Zikri Kamarulzaman.
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