If convicted former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak is pardoned and released from prison, it would be the “final line” for students and young people, warned student group Liga Mahasiswa Malaysia ahead of tomorrow’s Federal Territories Pardons Board meeting.
Its secretary Adam Raiyan Rahim said students were firmly opposed to any further leniency for Najib, who is serving a prison sentence after being convicted in the SRC International case.
“If Najib is released, know that this is the final line for students and young people. Do not challenge the students and young people in this country.
"The students’ position is clear: those who have stolen the country’s money do not deserve to be given even the slightest room for leniency," he said in a press conference organised by Bersih today.
Adam lamented that the billions of ringgit involved in the financial scandal during Najib’s tenure could instead have funded free education for students for 10 years, as well as free residential colleges.
Bersih executive director Asraf Sharafi Azhar said Najib had already received significant leniency when the Pardons Board reduced his 12-year jail term to six years and his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million in February 2024.
He said giving Najib further consideration would also raise questions about equality, particularly why his pardon application should receive priority when ordinary Malaysians serving prison sentences have also been waiting for pardons.
Asraf also pointed to Najib’s other legal cases, including the 1MDB case in which he was convicted last year and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and fined RM11.4 billion. Najib has appealed the decision.
He said the RM27 million SRC International money laundering case and the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) criminal breach of trust case could also potentially be revived, despite Najib having received a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) in both cases.
"If Najib is granted a pardon or a reduction in his sentence to serve the remainder of his prison term under house arrest, what will happen if he is subsequently found guilty in the 1MDB case, or if the prosecution decides to revive the SRC2 or IPIC cases?
"His pardon would obstruct the prosecution process and would not be practical given that he still has cases that are ongoing," Asraf said.
Street protests and petition
In a separate statement, 52 civil society organisations and prominent anti-corruption critics jointly called for Najib to remain in prison.
"The message from the people was clear in 2018. They wanted those involved in corruption and abuse of power to be investigated and punished fairly. The hundreds of thousands of people who took to the streets demanding justice and accountability over the 1MDB scandal must not be betrayed.
"In fact, the petition launched by Bersih in August 2022 calling on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong not to pardon Najib was supported by 157,000 Malaysians. The country is also still shouldering RM20.1 billion in debt, according to a minister’s answer in Parliament.
"The country is also witnessing two other former prime ministers, Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob, facing charges which also involve public funds. If they are convicted, will they too receive a pardon or reduction in sentence like Najib?" the statement read.
They said the government must consider the significant impact on the rule of law if a convicted leader like Najib is released from the normal process of justice.
"A pardon or house arrest for Najib would pose a total challenge to the moral values of Malaysian society, where power and money determine right and wrong, punishment can be removed through the protection of the highest authority, and the enforcement of the law is only for ordinary people.
"Ultimately, the people, particularly the younger generation, will bear the consequences and burden of corruption, abuse of power, and criminal breach of trust," they added.
Pardons Board meets tomorrow
Earlier today, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh confirmed that the Pardons Board will meet tomorrow, but stopped short of saying whether an application by Najib would be on its agenda.
Yeoh said she was among those summoned to attend the 8.30am meeting.
Najib began serving his 12-year prison term in 2022 after being convicted in the SRC International corruption case. In 2024, the Pardons Board halved his sentence and reduced his RM210 million fine to RM50 million.
In December last year, Najib was convicted of corruption for a second time and sentenced to 15 years in jail over the 1MDB case, together with an RM11.38 billion fine, which he will serve after completing his SRC sentence. - Mkini
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