KUALA LUMPUR — Datuk Seri Najib Razak has denied claims that he removed former attorney-general Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed after they advised him to acknowledge the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal and allow investigations into fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, to proceed, his lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said.
Shafee said he had confronted Najib about this, which alleged that the two officials had urged the former prime minister to admit he had been misled, apologise to the public and allow the authorities to investigate Jho Low.
“I have confronted my client about this story. He denied it. He said not in those terms,” Shafee said on a recent episode of Trick Lama, hosted by Big Boom Media group executive director Datuk Ahirudin Attan, better known as Rocky Bru, chief executive officer Datuk Zainul Arifin Mohammed Isa, and Scoop editor-in-chief Terence Fernandez.
Fernandez said he had spoken to one of the two former officials, who told him the conversation had taken place.
According to the account, Najib was advised to declare Jho Low a public enemy, accept the political fallout and allow the MACC, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the police to investigate the businessman. Instead, Najib allegedly removed Gani and Abu Kassim.
Shafee said he could not verify the full details of the alleged discussions, although he considered both former officials credible.
“I can’t say otherwise,” he added.
Shafee also disclosed that he had personally advised Najib to distance himself from Jho Low in 2018, before the general election.
“In fact, I have suggested to him in the course of 2018, before he lost the election. I’ve asked him whether he should throw Jho Low under the bus,” he said.
According to Shafee, Najib agreed that action should be taken against Jho Low but believed it was not the right time, as efforts to recover the allegedly stolen money were still underway.
“He has told me, yes, we should do that, but maybe the timing is not right because we need to recover the money that he stole. That’s what he told me,” Shafee said.
Shafee stressed that he did not know exactly what had transpired between Najib and the two former officials.
The discussion also touched on allegations that documents linked to the 1MDB investigation had been shared with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Shafee questioned whether the documents were provided to assist investigations into Jho Low or leaked to undermine the government at the time. However, he said he could not establish what had actually happened.
“In short, I do not know what really transpired, whether Mr A, Mr B, or Datuk Seri Najib have told all of us the whole story about the time when this was happening,” he said.
Scoop had earlier reported Shafee’s view that Najib could potentially be acquitted in the 1MDB case if Jho Low returned to Malaysia to testify.
“If you bring Jho Low here, and Jho Low has to testify and things like that, I think Najib will be acquitted. Because we could confront Jho Low with many things,” Shafee said.
Najib has been ordered to serve the remainder of his six-year prison sentence under house arrest at his Langgak Duta residence in Kuala Lumpur under an addendum issued by the previous Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
His wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, and other immediate family members are permitted to stay with him. However, Najib is barred from using social media platforms. — October 22, 2026