PH unlikely to lose support over Najib house arrest, says analyst

 Azmi Hassan says Pakatan Harapan supporters are likely to understand that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has discretion over pardons.

A political analyst says Pakatan Harapan supporters will not blame Anwar Ibrahim or Hannah Yeoh for their roles in the conditional pardon granted to Najib Razak.

PETALING JAYA:

Pakatan Harapan is unlikely to lose support at the coming elections over the conditional pardon for former prime minister Najib Razak, says political analyst Azmi Hassan.

Azmi Hassan.

He said PH supporters would understand the role played by DAP’s Hannah Yeoh, who is federal territories minister, and PH chairman Anwar Ibrahim, who is prime minister.

Anwar has said he respected the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s constitutional powers to grant pardons, while reiterating his opposition to corruption and commitment to accountability.

DAP has also said that it has consistently demanded justice and accountability over the 1MDB financial scandal, and said that Yeoh – one of the party’s three assistant secretaries general – had conveyed a position consistent with the party’s principles while carrying out her responsibilities as a member of the Federal Territories Pardons Board.

“I think PH supporters will understand the responsibility of Yeoh and its chairman Anwar … PH supporters won’t be blaming both of them in this particular case.”

Azmi said the political damage to PH was likely to be minimal, and the RM50 million condition attached to Najib’s house arrest could also leave supporters on both sides of the political divide satisfied to some extent.

As for Umno supporters “they are quite happy because house arrest means everything for them, even though there is the RM50 million fine that needs to be paid. PH supporters who don’t want to see Najib under house arrest or his sentence reduced, are also quite happy about the RM50 million caveat being imposed,” he said.

James Chin.

However, University of Tasmania academic James Chin said the conditional pardon could carry a significant political cost for Anwar and DAP. “This is a very bad look for Anwar … Najib’s case cannot be compared with other corruption cases,” he said.

Chin said Najib’s case was fundamentally different from other corruption cases because of the scale involved. “Najib represents grand kleptocracy, which is almost like stealing the entire state. This is the ultimate corruption, where the political leader of a country steals from the country.”

Earlier today, DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook said public anger over 1MDB had contributed to the change of government in 2018. He said the scandal had tarnished Malaysia’s image and eroded public and investor confidence in the country’s institutions.

Under the conditional pardon granted to Najib, he will be placed under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028 to serve the remainder of his six-year jail sentence in the SRC International case, subject to the payment of a RM50 million fine.

The legal affairs division of the Prime Minister’s Department which announced the pardon decision today, said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, had granted Najib a conditional pardon following a meeting of the pardons board. The king presides over meetings of the board, which comprises the attorney-general, the federal territories minister, and three members appointed by the Agong.

Najib, 73, has been serving a jail sentence at Kajang prison since August 2022 after the pardons board halved his original 12-year sentence in February 2024, and reduced the original RM210 million fine to RM50 million.

He has also been convicted of abuse of power and money laundering involving more than RM2 billion linked to 1MDB and was sentenced in December 2025 to 15 years’ jail and fined RM11.38 billion. He is appealing this conviction. - FMT