(Kuala Lumpur, 27th) Renowned Malaysian director Zhang Jiaan stated that after seeing news of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib being convicted and sentenced in the 1MDB abuse of power and money laundering case, at this moment, he very much wants to tell his media colleagues who were forced to "resign" under the era of Najib the autocrat, that their sacrifices were not in vain.
Former Prime Minister Najib has been found guilty on 4 counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering and has been sentenced to a total of 165 years in prison and fined RM11.4 billion! (Note: Najib was sentenced to 165 years, but sentences will run concurrently, so he only needs to serve 15 years.)
Zhang Jiaan was previously a newspaper reporter, as well as a broadcaster and host, among other roles. On Friday (27th), he posted on Facebook, sharing his views on the incident.
“As soon as I returned to the country and saw this news, my eyes instantly filled with tears. After waiting through 253 days of trial, we still believe in the independence of the judiciary in our country, and in the end, the people were given a fair decision.”
“At this moment, I recall the afternoon of June 30, 2017, when I was forced to leave the national radio station. The last time my superior smiled at me and said: ‘If you hadn’t been so foolish as to join Bersih’s anti-Najib protest, you wouldn’t have had your contract terminated... All the rumors about Najib’s corruption are just political slander. I’m surprised that someone as educated as you would believe these internet rumors!’”
He emphasized that over those years, he never regretted taking to the streets, enduring countless rounds of tear gas, shaving his head at Merdeka Square, or spending overnight protests sleeping on the streets with tens of thousands of people.
“Although I am heartbroken by the current political infighting, at least today, power no longer means immunity, and under the credibility of the rule of law, an autocrat who squandered the people's wealth is finally brought to justice.”
“Tonight, I don’t want to celebrate, I just want to wish Malaysia to continue advancing on the path of justice.”