Datuk Seri Najib Razak has publicly apologised to the Malaysian people over the 1MDB debacle.
In a statement read by his son Datuk Mohamad Nizar Mohamad Najib at the Kuala Lumpur court complex on Thursday (Oct 24), Najib expressed deep sorrow over the 1MDB corruption incident that occurred during his tenure as prime minister and finance minister.
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In a statement read by his son Datuk Mohamad Nizar Mohamad Najib at the Kuala Lumpur court complex on Thursday (Oct 24), Najib expressed deep sorrow over the 1MDB corruption incident that occurred during his tenure as prime minister and finance minister.
Read more at https://shorturl.at/jM9dg
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
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NewsTranscript
00:00I, on behalf of my client, Dato' Sri Najib, would like to make a media statement on his behalf.
00:12And this is his heartfelt statement.
00:17Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
00:20After much reflection over the course of 26 months in prison and following significant recent developments relating to 1MDB, I have decided to make the following statement.
00:34First and foremost, it pains me every day to know that the 1MDB debacle happened under my watch as Minister of Finance and Prime Minister.
00:48For that, I would like to apologise unreservedly to the Malaysian people.
00:58The recent court hearings and conviction of the Petro-Saudi executives in the Switzerland courts, as well as the recent article by The Edge,
01:11based on their analysis of the case as well as internal Petro-Saudi emails in their possession,
01:20again proves that I am not the mastermind and did not collaborate with Jolo in deceiving 1MDB of its funds.
01:34The Edge had reached a conclusion in the article that Petro-Saudi and Jolo had collaborated to deceive me,
01:46that I was not aware that Petro-Saudi was siphoning 1MDB funds.
01:54And I did not knowingly receive any money from the funds sent by 1MDB to Petro-Saudi.
02:06As hard as it is for some people to fathom or understand,
02:13I was advised and honestly believed at the time that the funds I received were political donations from Saudi Arabia.
02:26As established by court proceedings, they were indeed two confirmed large donations in 2010 from the Government of Saudi Arabia.
02:38Those were not the subject of any criminal nor civil proceedings.
02:45With the benefit of hindsight, when various parties began to question what was happening at 1MDB, I should have acted differently.
02:58I did initiate various investigations, but I was inclined to believe the explanations by the board and management.
03:08And then when I became suspicious about what was actually transpiring at 1MDB,
03:15my immediate concerns were its financial predicaments and the reciprocals to diplomatic and bilateral relations at the highest level.
03:27I have already been punished politically, but as I am clearly not the mastermind,
03:35and neither did I collaborate with JOLO, as recent events have shown, I should not be victimised legally too.
03:45I am still in deep shock, knowing now the extent of the wretched and unconscionable shenanigans and illegal things that happened at 1MDB.
04:05I deeply regret what has taken place at SRC and 1MDB.
04:12However, being held legally responsible for the things I did not initiate or knowingly enable is unfair to me.
04:26And I hope and pray that the judicial process will, in the end, prove my innocence.
04:36That is all.
04:55I hope and pray that the court proceedings against me on 30 October will be eased and I will be on the winning side, God willing.
05:10Thank you. That is all.
05:12Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
05:25Thank you for taking questions, but the statement, if you want it, I can pass it to you.