KUALA LUMPUR: The decision of the Federal Court in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s SRC International case proved the country’s judiciary system is independent, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The former prime minister said the decision has restored the dignity of the country.

Earlier, the Federal Court upheld Najib’s conviction and jail sentence of 12 years as well as RM210mil fine for misappropriating SRC International funds amounting to RM42mil.

“The independence of the judiciary is what I defended when I was the prime minister. Even though there were political pressures on me to interfere in certain cases, I was firm in rejecting them though I was forced to resign for defending the principle.

“I hope the independence of our judiciary would continue to be protected without attempts to interfere or face political pressure from any quarters so that justice could be upheld…for without an independent judiciary, the system of democracy of the country would fail to function and Malaysia would become authoritarian, corrupted and bankrupt of moral,” said Muhyiddin in a Facebook post.

According to Bernama, PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is of the view that the decision against Najib was an aspiration of the people who want to ensure the judiciary of the country is independent and clean from the detriments of corruption.

“This proves the people have the power; the people made the decision in 2018 to ensure the judiciary is independent and the nation is free from corruption.

“The people’s decision enabled professional prosecution and firmness as well as a bold judiciary in making decisions based on facts, and punished not according to the instruction of the politicians in power,” he said in a video post on Facebook.

DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke described today’s decision as a warning to all politicians not to be involved in the abuse of power, adding that it was a victory for the country’s democratic system.