Najib's pardons bid: Wait for Pardons Board's statement, says minister

Najib filed his application for a pardon on September 2, 2022, which was just days after he started serving his 12-year jail term at the Kajang prison. — Picture by Firdaus Latif

By Ida Lim

Tuesday, 30 Jan 2024 2:44 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 — The Pardons Board is expected to issue a statement regarding former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's application for a royal pardon over his conviction and 12-year jail sentence involving the misappropriation of SRC International Sdn Bhd’s RM42 million, a report said today.

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Local daily Berita Harian cited Minister in the Prime Minister (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa as confirming that she attended a Pardons Board meeting yesterday at Istana Negara, and said she did not give further details regarding the matter.

"Wait for the official statement from the Pardons Board," she was quoted saying after launching the draft Kuala Lumpur Local Plan 2040 draft.

Yesterday, local daily Utusan Malaysia reported that the Pardons Board would meet on that day itself and that the meeting would be chaired by the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Riáyatuddin Mustafa Billah Shah, and with one of the meeting's agenda to be regarding Najib's pardons bid.

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The Pahang ruler ends his reign as the country’s 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong today, while Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar will be the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a five-year term starting tomorrow.

Najib has been jailed since August 23, 2022, after the Federal Court upheld his conviction for criminal breach of trust, power abuse and money laundering about SRC’s RM42 million.

To date, Najib has been a prisoner for more than one year and five months.

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Najib filed his application for a pardon on September 2, 2022, which was just days after he started serving his 12-year jail term at the Kajang prison.

As Najib’s SRC offences were allegedly committed in the federal territories, the Pardons Board would be tasked with considering his pardons bid is the pardons board for the federal territories.

Under the Federal Constitution, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong chairs the meetings of the Pardons Board for the federal territories, which comprises the attorney general, the Federal Territories minister, and a maximum of three other members appointed by the Agong.

To know how the royal pardon process works in Malaysia, read here for a summary by Malay Mail.