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Partial pardon for thief Najib makes Malaysia’s anti-graft war a mockery
Update
Early release for Najib only with full pardon, says lawyer
No one-third remission or parole, as the commutation of Najib Razak’s sentence was carried out by the pardons board and is not a revised sentence handed down by a court.
V Anbalagan - 03 Feb 2024, 9:00am
A lawyer says Najib Razak is currently on trial in one case, with two other cases pending, which would be obstacles towards him obtaining an early release from prison.
PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Najib Razak’s hopes of early release from prison will rest only on a full pardon, a lawyer said today, disputing claims that Najib was entitled to a one-third remission of his sentence or to parole.
A Srimurugan said Najib faced another obstacle towards early release – his current trial, and two other cases that have yet to be tried.
He disagreed with claims by other lawyers that Najib could serve even less than six years after the Federal Territories Pardons Board halved the original 12-year jail sentence.
He said remission of one-third of a sentence did not apply as the new jail term was a result of a commutation by the board, which is headed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and was not a sentence handed down by a court.
It was the board that fixed the date of Aug 23, 2028 for Najib to be freed, or after an extra year in prison if he failed to settle a RM50 million fine, which the board had reduced from the original RM210 million.
He said the commutation of sentence does not entitle Najib to a further one-third remission or parole, as is the practice with criminal convictions.
“He has only one option, that is to apply for a full pardon like the one Anwar Ibrahim obtained in 2018,” when Anwar received a royal pardon for his sodomy conviction.
Earlier today, lawyers Kitson Foong and Rafique Rashid had contended that Najib could obtain a remission of his jail term. Berita Harian quoted Foong as contending that Najib’s new six-year term could be reduced by a third, or two years, for good behaviour, and he could be released from prison as early as January next year.
Srimurugan said Najib’s three sets of pending charges were another obstacle to overcome in terms of securing an earlier release.
Najib is currently on trial on 25 counts of money laundering and abuse of power over RM2.28 billion in funds allegedly from 1MDB. The case is at the prosecution stage.
Two other cases have yet to go to trial.
He is jointly charged with former Treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah on six charges of misappropriating RM6.64 billion in public funds to make payments to Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Co.
He also faces three counts of money laundering amounting to RM27 million, involving SRC International funds.
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 2, 2024: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his so called Madani Unity Government’s pledges to fight corruption have lost all integrity.
This follows the partial pardoning of disgraced and shameless former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
The pardoning makes a mockery of Malaysia’s anti-graft fight as the national thief will only be serving half of his 12-year jail sentence for his role and mismanagement of the multi-billion-ringgit 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) financial scandal.
No News Is Bad News reproduces below news reports on the jailbird’s appeal to the Pardon’s Board:
It’s confirmed: Najib’s 12-year jail term halved to 6
The former prime minister’s fine has also been reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million.
FMT Reporters - 02 Feb 2024, 3:34pm
Najib Razak began his initial 12-year prison term on Aug 23, 2022 following the Federal Court’s dismissal of his final appeal in the SRC International case. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Najib Razak’s prison sentence has been reduced from 12 to six years.
In a statement, the secretariat of the Federal Territories Pardons Board (FTPB) said Najib will be released on Aug 23, 2028.FMT
The former Pekan MP’s fine has also been reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million.
“However, if Najib fails to pay the (RM50 million) fine, a year will be added to his sentence, which means he will be released on Aug 23, 2029.”
The FTPB said Najib’s application was among five it deliberated on when it met on Monday.
His lawyer, Shafee Abdullah, previously said the petition for pardon was first submitted in September 2022.
Najib began his initial 12-year prison term on Aug 23, 2022 following the Federal Court’s dismissal of his final appeal in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.
He was tried before Justice Nazlan Ghazali (now a Court of Appeal judge) in the Kuala Lumpur High Court on seven counts of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust involving RM42 million in funds belonging SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
On July 28, 2020, he was convicted on all counts and sentenced to a 12-year jail term on each charge. Nazlan ordered that the jail terms run concurrently.
Najib’s conviction and sentence were subsequently affirmed by the Court of Appeal on Dec 8, 2021.
On Aug 23 the following year, a five-member panel of the Federal Court, chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, dismissed his final appeal. The apex court also ordered Najib to begin his term of imprisonment immediately.
The former Umno president will complete 18 months of his jail term on Feb 22 this year.
Najib, 70, has three other criminal cases which are still ongoing.
He is presently on trial on 25 counts of abuse of power and money laundering involving RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds deposited into his AmBank accounts between 2011 and 2014.
He is also facing three charges for money laundering involving RM27 million via three AmPrivate banking accounts.
Together with Irwan Siregar Abdullah, he faces another six charges for misappropriating RM6.6 billion in public funds involving payments to IPIC, an Abu Dhabi state-owned entity.
In March last year, the High Court acquitted Najib of a charge of abuse of power in relation to the alleged tampering of the contents of a 1MDB audit report, a decision which was upheld by the Court of Appeal six months later.
From Facebook:
Disgraced Malaysian PM’s Sentence Reduced
‘Bossku’ likely to resume kingmaker role in bid to keep Anwar in power
JOHN BERTHELSEN
JAN 31
The decision by Malaysia’s Pardons Board to free the disgraced former Prime Minister Najib Razak on what amounts to parole from his 12-year prison term, a sentence delivered for legendary crookedry, is yet another signal that Anwar Ibrahim, once regarded internationally as one of Asia’s most important reformers, is willing to do just about anything to stay in power.
Malaysia faces difficult economic and governance problems, many of them stemming from the political chaos that has enveloped the country almost since the current Pakatan Harapan coalition came to power in November 2022 – following 22 previous months of deadlock and multiparty infighting. Political analysts say the Anwar government has struggled to find its way since it came to power, with the leadership instead concentrating on the means of staying in power politically. Political figures from the opposition, on holiday in December, reportedly met in Dubai to scheme ways to peel away coalition MPs to topple the government although with a 154-68 bulge in the Dewan Rakyat, or parliament, he appears unassailable and likely to stay that way until the current government’s term ends in 2027.
Nonetheless, the country’s problems, including capital flight and a nagging brain drain, both as Chinese have fled the country in reaction to rising ethnic Malay xenophobia, have begun to cause international investors to lose confidence. GDP recorded anemic full-year growth of 3.8 percent, a sharp fall from post-Covid recovery of 8.7 percent in 2022 as exports slowed sharply, with inflation recorded at 3 percent over 2023 although it feels higher at the petrol pump and the grocery checkout, consumers say. Its currency’s worth has descended by 15 percent, from RM4.01 to the US dollar to RM4.72 since January 2022.
Anwar, analysts say, believes he can solidify his Unity Government coalition with the help of the 70-year-old Najib, who despite myriad legal problems remains “Bossku,” a kingmaker well admired by ethnic Malays who is believed to possess access to vast financial resources amassed from years of sleaze going back to his days as defense minister and later prime minister. Najib is a strong organizer who proved his mettle by winning a long string of by-elections following the 2018 electoral debacle that ended the 70-year reign in power of the Barisan Nasional even while he was free during trial or appeal from his prison sentence.
Anwar resigned from the Federal Territories portfolio and thus his seat on the pardons board several months ago, which gives him a minuscule bit of cover to deny he had anything to do with the decision. The outgoing king, Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, the Sultan of Pahang, and the pardons board decided on January 30 to cut Najib’s 12-year sentence to six years, meaning he can be released after serving just two. It is the sultan’s last official decision before he gives way today, January 31, to Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, Johor’s erratic ruler, under the country’s unique rotation system for its nine sultans.
Najib was jailed 17 months ago on charges of having stolen RM42 million (US$8.79 million at current exchange rates) from SRC International, a now-defunct subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Bhd, which collapsed in 2016 in one of Asia’s biggest financial scandals, leaving the Malaysian government with debts of US$7.8 billion. By serving another five months, he became freed on what amounts to parole for another two years.
Under the terms of his release from his 12-year sentence, which was actually a 72-year sentence on six charges being served concurrently, the suave former prime minister (2009-2018) who favored London-tailored suits and Hermes neckties, faces two additional trials – which appear likely to disappear. He won’t be allowed to participate in politics until the end of 2026, and then only as long as he keeps his nose clean. But while he can’t be a member of a political party, according to well-informed sources in Kuala Lumpur, he can likely unofficially return to his role as kingmaker with the ability to rally ethnic Malays to Anwar’s side – Anwar hopes – and stop their drift away from the now thoroughly-discredited United Malays National Organization, a component of Anwar’s ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition, to the rural fundamentalist Parti Islam se-Malaysia, or PAS, and the Malay supremist Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, or Bersatu, headed by former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
For months, rumors have been circulating in Kuala Lumpur that the king would pardon Najib, whose transgressions against the law went far beyond the relatively paltry RM42 million that he pocketed from SRC. He was not only the architect, with then financial wunderkind Low Taek Jho, known during his freewheeling Broadway days as Jho Low, of what the US Justice Department described as "one of the world's greatest financial scandals” but was involved in a long list of other scandals as well involving, according to his now-imprisoned bodyguards, at least one murder, of the Mongolian beauty Altantuya Shaariibuu, and possibly a second of former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigator Kevin Morais although most people don’t believe Najib was involved in the two murders despite the allegations.
Najib owes RM210 million in fines in lieu of another five years in jail on another charge, but should be able to pay it after the government returned all the money and valuables seized from him amounting to more than RM1 billion.
It is believed that the fines have been reduced to 50 million ringgit to be paid in five annual installments. If he does not pay the fines, he will be sentenced to 12 months in jail.
He is believed to have amassed far more than that from his years in power. When he was arrested in 2018 when the ruling Barisan Nasional fell from power, investigators found the equivalent of US$273 million worth of jewelry, handbags, and other valuables and cash in 26 currencies totaling US$28.6 million. At least US$681 million is known to have been transmitted into his accounts and out from 1MDB when he was still prime minister.
Can he still provide enough help for Anwar? That may be questionable, although apparently, Anwar thinks he can. UMNO, once the strongest party in the country, has fallen sharply to just 26 seats in the 122-member Dewan Rakyat, or parliament. It is headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is saddled with 47 counts of corruption related to his looting of a charity, although the charges were recently put off via a “discharge not amounting to an acquittal.”
Several other UMNO politicians have faced corruption charges and are known as the “court cluster.” Najib’s own wife, Rosmah Mansor, who is considerably less popular than he is, is free on appeal of a 10-year prison sentence for seeking and receiving bribes in exchange for government contracts, just days after her husband was jailed for corruption. Rosmah, who also owes fines of RM970 million, became a figure of derision for her extravagant lifestyle and her influence over the government.
The decision to free Najib is likely to earn the enmity of a good deal of the judicial profession, and the reformers who had put their hopes on him during his long periods of incarceration at the hands of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Najib. But years of lack of success in cleaning up the government make it likely they will have little success this time around either.
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The Coverage/News/Partial Royal Pardon : Najib Razak’s Jail Term Halved From 12 To 6 Years
Partial Royal Pardon : Najib Razak’s Jail Term Halved From 12 To 6 Years
Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s jail sentence for corruption has been reduced from 12 to six years by the Pardons Board following its meeting on Monday (Jan 29), sources including senior government officials told CNA.
The decision by the board, which is headed by Malaysia’s king, includes a reduction of his RM210 million (US$44.4 million) fine to an unspecified amount, according to three separate sources who spoke on condition of strict confidentiality.
The partial royal pardon for his role in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case comes after serving less than two years of his prison term.
The reduction means Najib is expected to complete his sentence in August 2028. But with parole for good behaviour, he could be out in August 2026 after serving two-thirds of the new jail term.
There has been feverish speculation about the pardon after Dr Zaliha Mustafa, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) confirmed yesterday that the board members including herself had met on Monday. She said an official announcement by the Pardons Board will be made.
The meeting was one of Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin’s last official tasks before he stepped down as Malaysia’s king on Jan 31 and handed the role to Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar under the country’s unique rotation system for its nine royal state households.
CNA is contacting the Malaysian authorities for comment. Najib’s lead counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said he has yet to be informed of any decision by the Pardons Board.
NAJIB’S INFLUENCE AND OUTSTANDING CHARGES
Najib, an ex-United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) president, is still believed to wield huge influence in the party, which is part of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.
He was Malaysia’s premier for nine years till May 2018 and its first PM to be imprisoned. He began serving his jail term in August 2022 after two failed appeals to overturn his conviction at a Malaysian High Court two years earlier.
The charges involved the transfer of RM42 million from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB, into his personal bank accounts in 2014 and 2015.
He was found guilty of three counts of criminal breach of trust, three counts of money laundering and one count of abuse of power by the High Court in July 2020, and was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million. The fine remains unsettled.
He is also facing several other charges in relation to the 1MDB scandal, including the laundering of RM27 million involving funds from SRC International.
Najib’s lawyers have applied to dismiss this money laundering case, and the court has said he can apply for an acquittal, or a discharge not amounting to an acquittal if prosecutors are not prepared to proceed with the trial in September, local media reported.
1MDB, Najib’s brainchild shortly after he became premier, turned into one of the biggest scandals to rock Malaysia and the international financial community. United States and Malaysian investigators estimate that more than US$4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and another US$1 billion flowed into accounts held by Najib.
Just days after Najib began serving his sentence at the Federal Prison of Kajang on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, he applied for a royal pardon.
CNA previously reported that Najib’s lead counsel Shafee filed a fresh application in early December last year for the Pardons Board to revisit his client’s clemency application.
This led to the change of heart among certain members of the Pardons Board, government officials close to the situation noted without elaborating. The application came before the Pardons Board in a meeting in December, but the matter was deferred to January.
Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, giving the king the final word on the pardon of convicted criminals, a similar system that governs neighbouring Thailand.
A high-profile royal clemency was last handed down in mid-May 2018 when the then-king, Sultan Muhamad V of the Kelantan royal household, granted a full pardon to Mr Anwar.
The latter was at the time serving a five-year jail sentence from 2015 for alleged sexual misconduct, a charge many Malaysians believed was part of a conspiracy to keep him out of national politics.
Mr Anwar had earlier filed two separate petitions for a royal pardon, in 2015 and 2017, and both were rejected by the Pardons Board.
Source : Channel News Asia
Wednesday 31 January 2024
It’s about public interest, responsibility and accountability
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It’s about public interest, responsibility and accountability
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1, 2024: Two days after the Federal Territories Pardons Board met, there is still no official word whether the disgraced and shameless former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak will be freed.
If everything is above board, and there is no sinister political conspiracy to free the felon, why then is it so difficult to announce the board’s decision.
What’s there to hide in a highly public interest matter?
And, a constitutional lawyer, Bastian Pius Vendargon was reported to have said there was no law compelling the board to make its decisions public.
No News Is Bad News opines that the matter is not about what is legal or not. It is about public interest, responsibility and accountability. And morality.
Why let all sorts of unhealthy media speculations ferment in public?
After all, Najib’s case is not about stealing a can of sardines ,tuna or milk powder from a supermarket.
The jailbird’s mishandling and mismanagement of the so-called Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), cost the rakyat dan negara (people and country) billions of ringgit in losses, contributing significantly to the country’s RM1.5 trillion national debt economy.
As a result, the rakyat dan negara are struggling financially to keep afloat to put food on the table daily for their loved ones, amid rising costs of living.
And Najib has failed, thus far, to show any remorse for the multi-billion-ringgit 1MDB losses
How then can you expect Malaysians to forgive Najib, the national thief, just like that without even having to return all his ill-gotten gains to the national coffer.
And his billionaire wife, Rosmah Mansor, is also appealing against a jail sentence.
Depending on the outcome of the board’s decision, it is set to have grave political consequences if the national thief is freed. And what about the integrity of the Government’s fight agaoinst corruption?
No News Is Bad News reproduces below a news report on the board’s moral obligation to the rakyat dan negara:
Pardons Board not legally compelled to make decision public, says lawyer
Bastian Pius Vendargon however says that the board has a moral obligation to do so.
Naveen Prabu - 01 Feb 2024, 11:00am
The Pardons Board should make public its decision on Najib Razak’s pardon application as the case is one of public interest, says lawyer Bastian Pius Vendargon.
PETALING JAYA: A constitutional lawyer says there is no law compelling the Federal Territories Pardons Board (FTPB) to make its decisions public, amid speculation that former prime minister Najib Razak will be granted a pardon for his corruption conviction.
However, Bastian Pius Vendargon said the board had a moral responsibility to do so.
He said it was crucial for FTPB to provide “well-founded and transparent reasons” for its decision, as it was a widely known and significant case.
“This is no ordinary case involving someone who committed murder and then is pardoned after 20 years.
“This is a public interest case and it involves public funds. Some of the money has been found in the US and elsewhere. So, this has caused a lot of public interest. There should be a proper explanation,” he told FMT.
Lawyer Charles Hector said although there were no legal requirements for the FTPB to announce its decisions publicly, transparency and accountability were important in a democratic system.
“The people demand it. They do not want ‘secrets’ as such conduct raises doubts. Why be afraid to be transparent and honest with the people?” he said.
He also recommended that all of FTPB’s decisions be made public and accompanied by concise explanations.
“It should be on the FTPB’s website. As pardons can be applied for by others, those who have applied should also get an answer.”
Meanwhile, another lawyer, Kitson Foong said the FTPB had the authority to withhold information from the public, particularly in cases where privacy concerns, such as an individual’s health issues, come into play.
“If a King forgives you, he forgives you. Just like the good old days of fairy tales. Whereas the court of public opinion is another story.
“But we are not ruled by the court of public opinion. We are ruled by the court of law and by the constitution.”
Rumours of Najib being granted a pardon have been swirling following reports that the FTPB met at Istana Negara on Monday.
The following day, federal territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa, who sits on the board, confirmed that the meeting took place, but did not disclose if Najib’s application was discussed. She said a statement from the board was forthcoming.
The same day, Utusan Malaysia quoted sources as saying that Najib had been granted a royal pardon, but later retracted its report and issued an apology. - FMT
Hopefully this week, Zaliha says on Najib’s pardon decision
Rumours of the ex-PM being granted a pardon have swirled following reports that the Federal Territories Pardons Board met at Istana Negara on Monday.
Elill Easwaran - 01 Feb 2024, 9:25am
Federal territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa is ‘hopeful’ that the status of Najib Razak’s pardon application will be revealed this week.
PUTRAJAYA: Federal territories minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa has expressed hope that the status of former prime minister Najib Razak’s application for a royal pardon will be revealed this week.
“God willing, it will be announced this week,” she told reporters after an event here today.
“Be patient. We will wait for the statement from the board.”
Rumours of Najib being granted a pardon have been swirling following reports that the Federal Territories Pardons Board met at Istana Negara on Monday.
Zaliha, who sits on the board, previously confirmed that the meeting took place but did not diclose if Najib’s application was discussed.
At a press conference yesterday, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail acknowledged that the Cabinet had been informed of Najib’s application for a royal pardon.
However, he declined to give details of the information brought to the government’s attention.
“We discussed the matter briefly but since it falls within the jurisdiction of the board, it is the board that must answer,” Saifuddin said.
Najib began his 12-year prison term on Aug 23, 2022, following the Federal Court’s dismissal of his final appeal in the SRC International case.
His lawyer, Shafee Abdullah, previously said a pardon application was first submitted in September 2022, and that addendums to the petition were filed in October that year and in April 2023. - FMT
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