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Najib ‘1MDB' Razak’s partial pardon is about morality, not about showing disrespect to anyone or the law
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6, 2024: The partial pardon of disgraced and shameless former premier Najib “1MDB” Razak has backfired with public outrage.
And the authorities, even Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, have called on Malaysians to respect the Pardon’s Board decision that was chaired by the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) who is from Pahang which is also Najib’s homestate.
And the so-called Madani Unity Government has also warned Malaysians not to question or show disrespect to the King.
Retired Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer said Section 43 of the Prison Act 1955 allows for the release of any prisoner “on licence” but “subject to regulations made by the minister”.
Now, lets put the issue in the right perspective, to the dislike or displeasure of Anwar and the ruling coalition.
When the public, in this case Malaysians, voice out their displeasure with the board’s decision, it does not mean they are showing disrespect to the King.
Neither are they questioning the right of the law.
They are only questioning the morality of the decision or whether the world's biggest kleptocrat, 1MDB Najib, deserves to be pardoned or even given a partial pardon (in this case having his 12-year jail sentence slashed by half to six years and his RM210 million court fine reduced to RM50 million).
Najib is no ordinary thief who stole a few cans of sardine, tuna or milk powder from the supermarket.
As prime minister, Najib mismanaged 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Malaysia’s so-called Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), causing it to lose billions of Ringgit that contributed significantly to Malaysia’s current RM1.5 trillion national debt economy.
And, with just a board’s decision, Najib gets more than a 50% discount on his sentence and the prospect of being freed and to keep all his ill-gotten gains?
Now, can anyone now understand the public outrage?
Also, what type of message is the ruling government sending out to Malaysians and the rest of the world on its fight against corruption?
And who are clamouring for Najib to be freed?
The corrupt Barisan Nasional (read as Umno) that was kicked out of power by Malaysian voters after some six decades of federal governance.
No News Is Bad News reproduces below news reports on the issue:
Prisons Act allows govt to free Najib, says ex-judge
However, regulations may need to be put in place by the home minister before Najib Razak can be released.
FMT Reporters - 06 Feb 2024, 7:00am
On Friday, the Pardons Board announced that Najib Razak’s jail sentence was reduced from 12 years to six, and his fine from RM210mil to RM50mil.
PETALING JAYA: The government has the power to release Najib Razak from prison under a provision of the Prisons Act 1955 despite the Pardons Board granting the former prime minister only a remission of his sentence, a retired Court of Appeal judge said.
Hamid Sultan Abu Backer said Section 43 of the Prison Act 1955 allows for the release of any prisoner “on licence” but “subject to regulations made by the minister”.
The provision also states that the conditions for the release of any prisoner “may be specified in the licence”.
The prisons come under the purview of the home minister.
“In my considered view, if the government wanted Najib to be released on licence under the Act, they could have done it long back.
“It could have also been done on justiciable grounds after the dissenting judgment of a Federal Court judge in the review application last year,” he told FMT.
However, he said there appears to be no existing regulations under which Najib may be released, and that regulations may need to be put in place by the minister for the purpose.
Hamid said the process is independent of any application to the Pardons Board and that the “ball is in the government’s court”.
“I am quite surprised that Najib and Umno have not taken up this issue with the government of the day,” he added.
Najib, 70, was found guilty of seven counts of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust involving RM42 million in funds belonging to SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
He began his initial 12-year prison term on Aug 23, 2022, following the dismissal of his final appeal by a five-member Federal Court panel led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat.
On March 30 last year, a separate five-member apex court panel dismissed Najib’s application for a review of the decision in his final appeal, dashing the former prime minister’s last hope of legal recourse in the case.
Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Rahman Sebli, who chaired the panel hearing the review application, delivered the sole dissenting opinion in the case, holding that Najib was not accorded a fair trial as he had no legal representation during his final appeal.
That, according to Rahman, amounted to a miscarriage of justice, as, despite an “impassioned plea”, Najib’s counsel of choice, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, was not allowed sufficient preparation time, and consequently was unable to submit on the merits of the appeal.
On Friday, the Pardons Board announced that Najib’s prison sentence had been reduced from 12 years to six, and that he will be released on Aug 23, 2028.
His fine of RM210 million was also reduced to RM50 million. However, he will have to serve an additional year of the jail sentence if he fails to pay the fine.
Monday 5 February 2024
Madani Unity Government continues to defend world’s biggest kleptocrat Najib Abdul Razak
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Madani Unity Government continues to defend world’s biggest kleptocrat Najib Abdul Razak
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5, 2024: The above image was found shared in social media today.
It quotes Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister (PMX) Anwar Ibrahim as saying: “Jasa kepada negara antara asas pegurangan hukuman Najib.” (Service to the country is one of the grounds for reducing Najib's sentence).
And it comes with this response: “Jasa apa? (What service? Hutang bertimbun (Debt piled up).”
Hello! What is Malaysia's current national debt? More than RM1.5 trillion!
And how much has Najib's 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a so-called Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), lost to thieves? Billions, my dear Government!
What more can we say about PMX's justification for reducing Najib's jail sentence from 12 years to six, and the RM210 million fine to RM50 million.
God save Malaysia!
Saturday 3 February 2024
Anwar and PH heading for political doom?
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Anwar and PH heading for political doom?
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3, 2024: Malaysia must hold the next 16th General Election by 2027.
And Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led and so-called Madani Unity Government (with the corrupt Barisan Nasional, read as Umno) are already digging their political graves?
Unbelievable and rubbish?
Just read the news analysis by Sui-Lee Wee, The Times Southeast Asia bureau chief, overseeing coverage of 11 countries in the region.
It is such a precise and no-holds-barred superb news analysis or round-up worth reading and worth reproducing below. We also reproduce what Singapore’s Straits Times is reporting about the partial pardon:
On the verge of political collapse?
*The Point of No Return for Pakatan Harapan*
A partial royal pardon for Najib Razak – the biggest kleptocrat in the country (and possibly the world) – is just as egregious as a full pardon.
How could the Pardons Board halve Najib’s 12-year jail sentence to six years, when a case of petty theft of just RM22 from a tabung masjid is punishable with 10 years’ imprisonment? Najib was convicted of abuse of power, CBT, and money laundering over a whopping RM42 MILLION in the SRC International case.
The Pardons Board also gave Najib a 76% discount on his RM210 million fine by slashing it to RM50 million (which is just 19% more than the RM42 million he was convicted of stealing). What beggars belief further is the Board’s decision to merely impose one year’s jail if Najib fails to pay his discounted fine of RM50 million.
Without justification, the Pardons Board essentially deprived the State of Malaysia its dues of RM160 million (which could have funded 32 million Menu Rahmah meals, one for nearly each citizen!).
What was the Pardons Board’s rationale for halving Najib’s 12-year jail sentence and reducing his RM210 million fine by a whopping 76%? He has shown no remorse. It’s a travesty of justice to lighten his punishment for grand larceny. Over US$4.5 billion (RM21 billion) was stolen in the 1MDB scandal.
Whether or not the previous King had the sole discretion to commute Najib’s sentence is irrelevant because the Pardons Board was the gatekeeper; cases could only go up to the YDPA after a recommendation is made by the Pardons Board.
Why did the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led government – which campaigned for years against the man branded by PH as a “kleptocrat”– expedite Najib’s pardon application to the King, instead of rejecting his application altogether since he has only served just over a year of his sentence so far?
In the case of a 42-year-old man named Affandi Abdul Rahim – who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2001 for a firearm-related offence (he didn’t shoot anyone dead) back when he was aged 20 – his mother was still seeking a royal pardon for her son last year, more than two decades after Affandi was sent to prison.
The Pardons Board’s act in reviewing Najib’s punishment so early in his sentence – which then has to be acted on by the King – is the reason why I blame this fiasco entirely on the Madani government. The Pardons Board includes Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa and Attorney-General Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh, both of whom were appointed by the the government.
Najib’s partial pardon is an unforgivable perversion of the law that shattered the foundation of Malaysia’s criminal justice system, where every man is supposed to be equal under the law.
It doesn’t matter if there are other pending 1MDB-related cases against Najib. The outcome of those cases is far from guaranteed. The MACC, prosecutors, and the judiciary spent over seven years on the SRC International case, from when investigations began in 2015 until Najib was sent to jail in August 2022. Najib’s commuted sentence of six years is shorter than that, and he may even get out as early as January 2025 for good behaviour, according to a lawyer.
The government spat in the faces of thousands of Malaysians who risked police harassment to protest on the streets against Najib in two Bersih rallies in 2015 and 2016.
The government spat in the faces of anti-graft investigators, whistleblowers, and journalists who risked threats to their lives and livelihoods to reveal the truth about 1MDB. The police even arrested MACC officers during MACC’s SRC International investigation in 2015, while two publications by The Edge were suspended. The Malaysian Insider shut down later in 2016.
The government spat in the faces of millions of voters who risked stepping out of their comfort zone to vote for PH – in 2018 and again in 2022 – in support of PH’s (former) ideals of fighting corruption.
Najib’s partial pardon cannot be excused as realpolitik. Najib was a red line that should never have been crossed. Every single MP who forms the Madani government is responsible for this fiasco.
And PH, this isn’t just about you. You may have forgiven your political enemies now that you’re in power, but you forget that millions of Malaysians fought side by side with you, moving mountains to get a former prime minister incarcerated – against all odds – for robbing the country blind.
The struggle was not PH’s alone. Najib only ended up behind bars because of the power of the people – from courageous MACC investigators and journalists, to ordinary men and women who dared to defy a ban on yellow shirts to march the streets in protest of the 1MDB scandal.
Some of us cannot, will not, and should not be expected to let this betrayal go. And don’t you dare cudgel us over the head with the nebulous threat of Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) religious fundamentalism. Pardoning Najib had nothing to do with PN.
The PH-BN government under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim made a deliberate choice to recommend reducing Najib’s sentence, even though taxpayers are still paying and will continue to pay the price (in US dollars) for his global-scale crimes until 2039.
In joining the side of kleptocrats, PH crossed the Rubicon – but for what?
When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River in 49 BCE, it was with righteous intention to correct what he perceived was wrong with the Roman Republic. While he was dictator, Caesar implemented many reforms for the people.
PH, on the other hand, passed the point of no return not to save the country at great personal risk, but to get a crook freed early just to protect their positions of power and privilege in Putrajaya.
With one swoop of a pen to recommend partially pardoning the symbol of global multi-billion dollar kleptocracy, PH irrevocably destroyed not only its own identity (beyond its reputation), but all hope for Malaysian democracy. PH supposedly “saved” Malaysia from Najib, only to return to Najib.
Drop the word Harapan from your name, Pakatan Harapan. You can no longer call yourself that. I don’t even know who or what you are anymore. Who are you?
When the 16th general election comes around in a few years’ time, we do not have to play the binary game forced upon us of choosing the lesser of two evils. Opting out is an option when the political and democratic process is rigged to favor elites. Getting elected is your problem; it’s not mine.
Don’t ever try to emotionally blackmail us again by citing the potential destruction of the future of our children and grandchildren if we abstain from voting or if we vote for your opponent. You already destroyed this country and future generations, all by yourself. Anwar and PH, this is your legacy.
Boo Su-Lyn is writing in her capacity as an ordinary voter from KL.
February 2, 2024
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*Malaysia Reduces Sentence of Najib Razak, Disgraced Ex-Prime Minister*
_His release has been set for August 2028 and his fine reduced to a quarter of its original amount, a move that has drawn criticism from observers and citizens._
*_By Sui-Lee Wee and Tashny Sukumaran / New York Times /Feb. 2, 2024_*
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/02/world/asia/malaysia-reduces-sentence-najib-razak.html
The authorities in Malaysia have halved the sentence of Najib Razak, a former prime minister convicted of stealing millions of dollars from a government fund, a move that has triggered outrage in the country.
*_The leniency for Mr. Najib comes after weeks of speculation in Malaysia that he might be pardoned by King Sultan Abdullah, whose tenure under Malaysia’s unique rotational monarchy ended on Tuesday. But many analysts had said it was unlikely that Mr. Najib, who has served only 17 months of his term, would receive any form of clemency because he is still facing three continuing criminal cases related to what is known as the 1MDB scandal._*
On Friday, Malaysia’s Pardons Board said that Mr. Najib, who began a 12-year sentence in 2022, will instead be released in August 2028 and his fine reduced to $11 million, a quarter of the previous fine. But according to Malaysian law, he could be released even earlier, in August 2026, if he applies for parole after serving half of his term.
The announcement spurred a wave of anger over what many Malaysians said was a culture of impunity among the country’s top officials. Much of the money that disappeared from the 1MDB fund has yet to be recovered. In September, a court suddenly dismissed 47 embezzlement charges filed against Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the deputy prime minister.
The decision is likely to reignite questions about the rule of law in Malaysia. It is also likely to increase the public’s disillusionment with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who entered office on an anti-corruption platform but who critics say has made too many compromises, like the alliance with Mr. Ahmad, to stay in power.
*_Wong Chin Huat, a professor in political science at Sunway University in Malaysia, said the lack of transparency and accountability in Mr. Najib’s case was “undermining public confidence in our justice system and political system, and international businesses’ confidence in Malaysia’s investment environment.”_*
*_Mr. Wong also questioned whether Mr. Najib deserved this leniency, adding: “Has he even admitted his guilt and offered an apology?”_*
Other analysts saw the decision as a carefully calibrated compromise that would allow both the pro-Najib and anti-Najib camps to feel that they had notched a win.
*_“As long as it is neither a full pardon nor a full sentence, both camps can draw some comfort from the fact that it could be worse,” said Francis E. Hutchinson, the coordinator of the Malaysia Studies Program at the Singapore-based ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute._*
As such, Mr. Hutchinson said, any fallout should be limited as long as Mr. Najib’s subsequent legal cases were allowed to proceed.
The first allegations against Mr. Najib appeared in news reports nearly a decade ago. Malaysians — though long accustomed to graft by high-ranking officials and politicians — were shocked to learn that the premier had funneled $700 million from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund, or 1MDB, a government investment fund, to his personal bank accounts.
Infuriated citizens took to the streets to demand Mr. Najib’s resignation. The scandal also upended politics in the 2018 election when voters cast Mr. Najib out of office — the first time in Malaysia’s independent history that his political party, the United Malays National Organization, or U.M.N.O., had lost in national elections.
The U.S. Department of Justice later found that Mr. Najib and a mysterious tycoon, Jho Low, had diverted $4.5 billion from the fund to finance an American film company that produced “The Wolf on Wall Street”; purchase a superyacht; and support the lavish lifestyles of Mr. Najib, Mr. Low, and Mr. Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor.
In 2017, the then-U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the 1MDB case “kleptocracy at its worst.”
In 2020, Mr. Najib was found guilty on seven counts of corruption. It was a watershed moment in Malaysian politics; no top leader had ever been convicted before, and the courts were lauded for establishing their independence from politics. He started serving his prison sentence in August 2022 after his appeals failed.
Despite Mr. Najib’s conviction, he is still influential within U.M.N.O., whose members now make up part of Mr. Anwar’s government. The party retains considerable support among ethnic Malays, the majority, who benefited during Mr. Najib’s nine-year rule and whom Mr. Anwar is now trying to court.
*_The United Malays National Organization has long said that the case against Mr. Najib was politically motivated, and his supporters have always expressed hope that he would get out of prison and revive his political career._*
Sui-Lee Wee is the Southeast Asia bureau chief for The Times, overseeing coverage of 11 countries in the region.
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Singapore's Straits Times:
Saturday 3 February 2024
Muda: Respect voice of Malaysians
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Has Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister (PMX) Anwar Ibrahim forgotten this image? Image for illustration only. For image info, go to https://www.newmandala.org/malaysias-new-struggle-over-state-power/
Muda: Respect voice of Malaysians
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3, 2024: Muda is the youngest political party in Malaysia comprising vibrant and professional youths.
Yet, it appears to be more mature than established political parties when it concerns the rights and freedom of speech of Malaysians.
Unlike politicians from established political parties who use threats and bullying tactics to silence the public, Muda is telling the so-called Madani Unity Government (UG) not to tell (or stop) the public from questioning the jailbird Najib Abdul Razak’s partial pardoning issue.
Muda acting president Amira Aisya Abd Aziz said the Government must respect the voice of Malaysians. (Also, do not forget people’s power in politics.)
“ We are disappointed with (communications minister) Fahmi (Fadzil)’s statement since he comes from PKR, a party known for championing freedom of speech.
“If the people are disappointed with what’s happening, they have the right to question the Government,” she said.
Muda is spot on on the issue. If the rakyat (people) is silenced, can the Government get accurate feedback for good governance?
Is the UG becoming dictatorial?
Also, the main reason for the rakyat’s disgust is the lack of transparency in the Pardon’s Board decision. Why can’t it explain the rationale for the decision to reduce the disgraced and shameless Najib’s 12-year jail sentence to six years, and slashing his RM210 million fine to only RM50 million?
No News Is Bad News reproduces below a news report on Muda’s stand on the issue:
Don’t tell public not to question Najib issue, says Muda
The youth party’s acting president, Amira Aisya Abd Aziz, says the government must respect the voice of Malaysians.
Rex Tan - 03 Feb 2024, 8:43pm
Amira Aisya Abd Aziz flanked by acting information chief Leben Siddarth and party secretary-general Amir Hadi at a press conference today.
KUALA LUMPUR: Unity government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil should not tell the public not to comment on former prime minister Najib Razak’s commuted sentence as it is their right to express their disappointment, says Muda.
The youth party’s acting president, Amira Aisya Abd Aziz, said she was disappointed with Fahmi’s statement since he comes from PKR, a party known for championing freedom of speech.
“If the people are disappointed with what’s happening, they have the right to question the government,” she said. “And when they are questioning any issue, it doesn’t matter who they are, please do not ask them to silence themselves. You have to respect the voice of the rakyat.
“That’s what the communications minister and the unity government’s spokesman should do,” Amira said at a press conference here today.
Earlier today, Fahmi urged all parties to respect the decision of the Federal Territories Pardons Board and refrain from commenting on the commutation of Najib’s jail sentence and fine in his SRC International case.
Fahmi had warned that the police and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission could act on those who overreact to the matter on social media.
Amira also hit back at federal territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa for labelling the party as immature when brushing off Muda’s calls for her resignation.
Amira said members of the Pardons Board, particularly Zaliha and Attorney-General (AG) Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh, should explain the grounds for reducing Najib’s jail term and fine, adding that this was their moral obligation.
“Muda has not forgotten what Najib did in the past,” she added.
Both the AG and Zaliha sit on the Pardons Board, which is chaired by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
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