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KUALA LUMPUR – Veteran opposition politician Lim Kit Siang on Monday (November 2) urged the Malaysian Parliament not to recognize the appointment of former Prime Minister Najib Razak as president of the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers’ Club (BNBBC), saying that any recognition will plunge the legislative institution into “new shame and infamy.”
Lim’s statement comes after media reports on Sunday that Najib’s appointment to the post will allow him to coordinate matters with BN deputies.
As president, Najib will be able to decide the order of the BN debaters and give them instructions on what issues they should raise during parliamentary debates.
Najib, 67, was convicted of corruption and sentenced to 12 years in prison and a fine of 210 million ringgit (68.89 million Singapore dollars) in July in the first of five trials he faces in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption scandal.
The former prime minister remains at large, as he was granted a stay of execution pending his appeal against the verdict.
Najib is also facing several other trials related to 1MDB.
Lim, who is a Member of Parliament for the Democratic Action Party, said on Monday that Najib’s appointment is doubly shocking and shameful as it is proof that public integrity and the fight against corruption are further from the principles and the vision of Umno, the Malaysian Chinese. Association and the Indian Congress of Malaysia – the three founding parties of BN.
“Najib’s appointment as president of BNBBC and the recognition by Parliament of this appointment are completely opposed to the task of ‘making the people of Malaysia whole,'” he said.
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