During the four years since he was charged in this and other cases, Najib has been on bail, using that time to rebuild his political image systematically using the “Apa Malu Bosku” moniker through social and other media to not only maintain he was innocent but to make him into a political force again.

Umno politicians who should know better threw their weight behind Najib during the course of the latest appeal – a rather unbecoming behaviour. Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi called on Umno to support Najib during the “difficult” SRC appeal.

Both he and his deputy Mohamad Hasan said the decision of the Federal Court to refuse additional evidence erodes judicial integrity, in response to which the Bar Council issued a statement in support of the judges. How is one to interpret such developments by the two top officials of what was for a long time the most powerful political party in Malaysia?

Unanimous decision

Despite such pressures, the Federal Court made a unanimous decision and affirmed the guilty verdict and sent Najib to jail. The five-member bench was headed by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat. The others were Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, Federal Court judges P Nallini, Mary Lim Thiam Suan and Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah.

By doing so, the five strongly affirmed the rule of law and showed that no matter how high an office a charged person held, the case against him will be decided by the law - no matter the threats, pressures and noises by others not involved in the case. For the first time in Malaysia, a former PM was sent to jail.

When a unanimous decision is made by reputable members of the bench and clear, written grounds for the judgment are given, it leaves no doubt as to the guilt of the accused, although he tried to play to the gallery by appealing to emotion, not reason.

The impact of the Federal Court decision is far-reaching. It is a message to others that if they are similarly charged, they can expect justice to be meted out - no matter how high their social standing - without fear or favour; a major deterrent to the rampant corruption at high places which we are seeing now.

However, enforcement as in charging the guilty still leaves a lot to be desired. If the Pakatan Harapan government had not come to power would Najib ever have faced the courts? Highly unlikely.

For Najib, it’s the end of the road for now, and politically, for always. Talk of pardon is being glibly bandied about. But pardons are a process and should only be given when there is a gross miscarriage of justice or when the accused’s service in other respects has been exemplary. On both counts, Najib fails miserably.

One has to remember that Najib faces other charges for which trials are already ongoing, some of them much more serious than the ones he is facing now. He is facing four charges of abusing his position to receive bribes of RM2.3 billion and 21 charges of laundering the same amount.

This arises from the US$680 million that was moved into his accounts which the US Department of Justice said came from funds stolen from 1MDB. Will any sane person push for a pardon from crimes such as these where billions were stolen from the country?

The Federal Court decision is important because it does demonstrate unequivocally that no one is above the law and that even those in high positions can be brought to court and convicted for white-collar crimes.

That offers some hope for this country of ours going forward, provided we collectively as Malaysians, when the time comes, refuse to hand over power to the corrupt and to those who abuse them, many of them very demonstrably so.

The Federal Court decision is a burst of welcome sunshine in a place where things have been dark for way too long. Let’s keep the light on.