KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — Three DAP central executive committee today condemned Umno and its supporters for what they labelled as attacks against the judiciary following the Federal Court’s decision to uphold Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s conviction and sentence in the SRC International Sdn Bhd scandal.

Pahang state lawmaker Young Syefura Othman, Johor DAP vice-chief Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali, and Syahredzan Johan noted the plethora of criticism against the judiciary following Najib’s jailing.

"Slander and accusations against these two senior judges are the latest in the series of attacks launched by Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s supporters and Umno leaders and members towards the judges involved in the SRC International case,” the trio said in a joint statement.

They claimed remarks made by the Naib supporters "prove Umno will not hesitate to attack two respected Malay-Muslim judges for their own political interests”.

"We strongly condemn all forms of baseless attacks aimed at undermining public confidence in the judiciary and the Malaysian legal system following the SRC International case that ended this week.

"The judiciary is an important institution within the framework of the Federal Constitution, and everyone must ensure that it is free from any form of disturbance and political interference,” they added.

The DAP politicians also pointed out that Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan had published an article authored by one "Lim Sian See” that disparagingly described Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali as a "newbie judge” when the latter presided over Najib’s SRC International trial.

"However, it is widely known that the judgment of Mohd Nazlan in the case was made carefully and accurately, and was affirmed by three Court of Appeal judges and five Federal Court judges,” they said.

They stressed that the race and religion of a judge has nothing to do with the person’s authority and integrity.

The DAP politicians noted too the widely reported threats made against Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, and fake news involving the royal institution that forced the palace to rebut allegations that the top judge and her husband had been banned from entering Istana Kelantan.

They said the public are free to criticise but called for a stop to attacks against the judiciary and other institutions.

On August 23, the apex court upheld the conviction and 12 years’ jail sentence and RM210 million fine on Najib for misappropriating RM42 million of SRC International funds.

A five-member bench led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat dismissed the former prime minister’s appeal to set aside the conviction and sentence imposed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 28, 2020.

Najib was sent to Kajang Prison immediately to serve his sentence. He is still facing trial for a slew of other corruption and power abuse charges, including those relating directly to 1MDB.