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DATUK Zaid Ibrahim has many claims to fame – a former student leader, a maverick politician who left Umno, then PKR, then rebranded a small political party, KITA, only to resign from the outfit two years later.
He joined DAP in 2017 but left in 2020 before arriving full circle at Umno’s door again in August this year.
Zaid was previously a Senator in the Dewan Negara, the upper chamber of Parliament. He also founded the largest law firm in the country and was a former law minister in Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s cabinet.
But his most recent claim to fame was briefly representing former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during the latter’s SRC International final appeal hearing.
In this candid conversation with The Vibes’ senior team, Zaid talks about defending the fundamental principles of Article 5 – that every citizen is entitled to effective counsel.
He expresses in depth his disappointment in not being afforded the opportunity to submit new evidence which was supported by MACC’s investigations and statements by Maybank officials which supported their case.
Touching on his quarrel with the Bar Council, Zaid asserts that political influence and interference in our institutions have led to pervasive public distrust in the system.
Zaid shares his thoughts on young Malaysians and how they need to spend less time criticising people on social media and more time ‘doing’ something to bring positive change in society.
On re-joining Umno, Zaid says, “Although I have moved from place to place, I’ve always been loyal to what I believe in.”
But does he believe that Umno in 2022 is capable of change? Listen to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly to find out. – The Vibes, September 3, 2022
Presented by Petra News chief executive Datuk Zainul Ariffin Mohamed Isa, executive director Datuk Ahirudin Attan (better known as Rocky Bru) and editor-in-chief Terence Fernandez
Produced by Shazmin Shamsuddin and sound engineered by Ethan Phoon