Ahead of top party meeting, Umno leader tells govt to go after judge Nazlan and 'fair trial' for Najib

An Umno leader has warned Perikatan Nasional (PN) against opposing any move to press the government to investigate former attorney-general Tommy Thomas, as well as to bring charges against former central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz and the judge who convicted Najib Razak in the SRC International case.

Puad Zarkashi also said that Umno leaders must now seek a "fair trial" for the former prime minister, who is currently serving a 12-year jail sentence.

He hinted that these calls by Umno would be discussed by party leaders in their first meeting tonight since collaborating with Pakatan Harapan (PH) to form the government.

"The government must be urged to speed up the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on Tommy Thomas, the RCI on Tabung Haji, charge judge Nazlan, charge Zeti Aziz, ensure a fair trial for Bossku, and file the suit on the Batu Puteh island dispute," Puad said, referring to Najib through his "Bossku" tagline.

"PN should not object. This is in line with the PN tagline 'Caring, Clean and Stable'," he added.

Umno leaders had criticised Najib's verdict by citing a defence argument that judge Nazlan Ghazali should not have presided over the trial due to conflict of interest.

The claim against Nazlan was dismissed by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who said there was no issue with his previous employment at Maybank.

"Even if Maybank was involved, the question is how the bank, and by extension justice Nazlan’s involvement, is in any way material to the question of abuse of power charge," she had said while presiding over Najib's final appeal at the Federal Court.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi meanwhile is among Umno leaders who have called for an RCI to investigate Thomas.

A similar inquiry was set up early this year to investigate allegations of administrative weaknesses in Tabung Haji. 

PH, during its 22-month administration after the 2018 election, had accused the previous BN government of mismanaging the pilgrims' fund, while Umno leaders attacked PH for the sale of the fund's assets on the pretext of settling debts.

Umno also condemned a decision by the previous PH government not to seek a review of the International Court of Justice’s decision to award Batu Puteh to Singapore.

"This is not about taking revenge or abusing power. This is taking turns to find the truth," Puad said.