UMNO is crowdfunding Najib’s house arrest fine. Detractors are chipping in for a different reason

KUALA LUMPUR – UMNO’s crowdfunding campaign has collected over RM1 million (S$313,000) in donations for former prime minister Najib Razak as at Sept 20, even as the initiative sparked fierce online backlash and widespread public mockery.

His daughter Nooryana Najwa said the former UMNO president was deeply moved when he learnt that supporters were willing to contribute towards the RM50 million fine. The fine is a condition for Najib to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.

“Daddy really did not expect so many people to be willing to contribute,” Nooryana, who is also information chief of UMNO’s young women’s wing Puteri, posted on Instagram on Sept 20.

Meanwhile, Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor said supporters from countries including Singapore, Brunei, Italy and Canada had contacted her to express their desire to contribute.

“Today, I realise who our friends are, those who have stood by us through good times and bad,” she wrote on Facebook on Sept 20.

But as Najib’s family thanked supporters, UMNO and Najib faced severe online backlash and criticism from Malaysians online, who were incensed by the possibility of his house arrest.

UMNO had circulated its bank account details to solicit donations for Najib. But critics have used the opportunity to lob insults at him.

Micro-donations a form of insult

Screenshots circulating on social media purportedly showed tiny transfers of merely one or five sen to the Najib Razak Solidarity Fund.

Screenshots of purported micro-donations to UMNO’s Najib Razak fund by detractors, both with a remark in Malay that roughly means “Malaysian father of embezzlement”.

PHOTO: SCREENGRAB OF UMNO’S NAJIB RAZAK FUND BY DETRACTORS

Bank transfers allow the donor to attach a message to the recipient. This was utilised by detractors to include derogatory comments about Najib.

Among other things, they used the field to label the recipient, meaning Najib, with the derogatory Malay slang “bapak sakau negara”, roughly meaning “Malaysian father of embezzlement”.

Other transfers also made references to previous allegations of crimes and offences linked to Najib.

Some also took it to the next level, by editing a screenshot to claim that they had paid the entire RM50 million to Najib.

Another posted an edited screenshot claiming that financier Jho Low had transferred RM51 million to Najib.

Low, accused of involvement in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal alongside Najib, remains a fugitive.

Najib’s transfer to house arrest has become the subject of intense public attention, with a mobile police station set to be deployed outside his Kuala Lumpur residence on Sept 21 amid preparations for his transfer from Kajang Prison.

Political fallout over house arrest

The move has caused Transport Minister Anthony Loke of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) to resign from his post on Sept 19.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim explained on Sept 20 that the final decision on a pardon rests with the ruler of a state or the Malaysian king.

Anwar said every prisoner has the right to submit a petition for consideration by the Pardons Board, adding that the prime minister’s advice and the attorney-general’s views must be considered in the process.

However, he clarified that his advice did not amount to a recommendation for Najib to be granted a pardon and would not affect legal proceedings in the former prime minister’s other ongoing cases.

“I continued to remind them about the cases that are still ongoing. I also reminded them that the fine was too large and that the impact on public confidence in the system and international perception must be taken into account,” he was quoted as saying.

UMNO launched the solidarity fund after Najib was granted a conditional pardon on Sept 18, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, subject to the payment of a RM50 million fine.

Speaking via his lawyer, Najib said he remains in prison until the fine is paid. However, he indicated that it is difficult to pay the fine as a significant part of Najib’s assets, bank accounts and properties remain subject to freezing orders and enforcement proceedings by the government.

Political opponents have attacked UMNO’s crowdfunding, with Parti Amanah Negara’s Youth wing chief Fadhli Umar Aminolhuda questioning on Sept 19 why UMNO had mobilised its grassroots for Najib rather than recovering losses linked to the 1MDB scandal.

Meanwhile, Johor DAP vice-chief Sheikh Omar Ali used a village analogy to make a similar point, asking why villagers whose money had allegedly been misused would then be asked to contribute towards the perpetrator’s fine.

“The money of the villagers was misused, and he was punished for taking it... and now the villagers are being asked to help pay the fine from their own pockets.

“What kind of lesson is this that we are teaching the people?” he asked.