ONE of the most memorable one-liners has to be Jack Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth!" from the 1992 military courtroom blockbuster, A Few Good Men.
Nicholson, playing the wolf-eyed Colonel Jessup, screamed those words at Lieutenant Kaffee (played by Tom Cruise) when he was called to testify in a court-martial proceedings.
In the scene, Nicholson can be seen seething at the camera as Cruise does his bug-eyed thing while shouting out his questions until the superstar finally yells back at the Colonel, "I want the truth!"
It is then that Nicholson fires back, "You can't handle the truth!"
Coming back to reality, there was no lack of drama in the run-up to Datuk Seri Najib Razak's final appeal hearing at the highest court of the country in Putrajaya, and now after the aftermath of the verdict.
Malaysians and those following the former prime minister's case worldwide were kept on their seat's edge as proceedings in the Federal Court began on Aug 15.
It was clear from that day on that Najib was in trouble. His application to adduce fresh evidence and establish trial judge Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali's biasness was roundly booted out.
Najib realised there and then that his chances of a successful appeal were slowly eroding away.
His demeanour as he walked into court and while seated in the dock also changed in the following days.
As much as he tried to hide it from the crowd of supporters which lined the driveway to the Palace of Justice, it was clear that he knew what was coming.
Najib, 69, realised that he was destined to be locked up... that he would move from a former prime minister to become a prison inmate.
This became a reality on Tuesday, Aug 23. Najib was driven to the Kajang prison on that evening to serve out his 12-year jail sentence, with an additional five if he fails to pay the RM210 million fine which comes with his conviction of misappropriating RM42 million of SRC funds.
However, even as the judges were in the midst of hearing his case, rumblings were heard about attempts to pile political pressure on the judiciary to free the man convicted of pulling off one of the biggest scams in the world.
As much as this was subsequently denied by Umno leaders, there exist many videos of the party leaders desperately calling for the prime minister to intervene.
Now, barely after he has familiarised himself with his new surroundings behind the high prison walls, the same people are pressing for an immediate royal pardon for the inmate.
The only word to describe such moves is mockery. It would be an absolute mockery of the entire judicial process in the country if this becomes a reality.
While it is his absolute right, and it is only to be expected that he would do whatever necessary to get out of jail, it should be noted that this is not the only case that Najib is facing.
His legal troubles include at least three 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) trials still ongoing and in various stages of hearing.
Would it be necessary to proceed with those trials if the end intention is to wipe off any punishment that is meted out by the courts?
As Nicholson's character rightly pointed out when his back was pushed to the wall, the question that needs to be confronted by those in power is whether they are able to handle the truth of the situation caused by the former prime minister's incarceration.
As grotesque and incomprehensible the situation faced by their boss may be to his supporters, the truth that is staring Malaysians in the face is that Najib has done the crime, now he needs to do the time.