Datuk Seri Najib Razak speaks during a press conference before leaving the KL High Court, July 4, 2018. ― Picture by Mukhriz Hazim

KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak will suffer the same fate as Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1998 in the way he was treated and later imprisoned, Umno said today.

In a statement, the party’s strategic communications unit said that under the current Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, Najib will be treated the same way that Anwar was in 1998, when the latter was arrested and jailed for corruption and sodomy.

Najib, the former prime minister, has been arrested and charged for corruption since PH won the general election two months ago, and faces a trial next year.

“Just like Anwar in 1998, they will ensure Najib is found guilty and thrown in jail. This is the priority of the Pakatan Harapan government in practising revenge politics,” it said.

It added that the current government was unreliable and only acts as a “vacuum cleaner” correcting past mistakes but is not coming up with initiatives to reduce the people’s burden.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that the people are not so comfortable with the government because of the excessive focus on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and government-linked companies,” it said.

The party mouthpiece also said that the government has dragged Najib to court “without concrete evidence”.