Malaysiakini : He went to jail on Aug 23, 2022. Less than one and half years later of a 12-year sentence, he expects an unprecedented pardon.
Najib
and his lawyers have been pushing for a pardon, saying that he did not
receive a fair trial. However, that does not cut it, for nine senior
judges found without any disagreement that the evidence was strong, with
the chief justice even describing it as overwhelming.
On top of
that, as he was jailed, he was facing four other charges, all involving
1MDB. He won an audit tampering case over 1MDB but is still facing three
other serious charges.
There are three other pending high-profile
court cases against Najib, which include 25 charges involving RM2.3
billion, six criminal breach of trust cases involving RM6.6 billion and
money laundering involving RM27 million.
Tarnishing Malaysiaās reputation
There is no
reason whatsoever why a convicted felon facing other more serious
criminal charges and responsible for billions of ringgit in losses at
self-styled national strategic development company 1MDB should receive a
pardon.
If he does, the definite inference is that it is a
political deal of the worst kind - letting a felon go free in exchange
for perceived increased political support.
That is a punishing
indictment against Malaysia which will have far-reaching consequences
for the rakyat, for the economy, for governance and the lack of
confidence that Malaysians and foreigners will have in the country.
This
coalition government must stop in its tracks, especially in regard to
Umno Baruās selfish and desperate attempts to pardon Najib with the
excuse that it will (probably) gain Malay support.
That will only push this country down a slippery path with all footholds removed through the pardon process.
Selfish
because many in Umnoās top leadership were complicit and connived with
Najib during the IMDB scandal, receiving money into their accounts from
1MDB funds.
They are turning desperate because they know that Umno in its current form cannot get Malay support.
Harapan and the PM will do well to remember that the rakyat rejected
Umno in 2018 because of 1MDB and then again in 2022 because of
continuing corruption. Umno has a paltry 26 seats now.
The
perceived support for Najib is illusionary - not many will support the
pardoning of a convict who still faces serious charges as the results of
the last elections show.
Non-Malays, a bastion of support for Harapan will become disillusioned and abstain, or even vote for the opposition.
We
could well see PAS and its allies gaining ground and perhaps even power
at the next polls as a result of a public backlash against the
coalition government.
The obvious connection
Despite
what Najibās lawyers commented about the king having absolute power
over whether to pardon or not, that is untrue if you refer to the
Federal Constitution, which clearly shows the king is a constitutional
monarch.
Article 40(1) reads:
āIn the exercise of his
functions under this Constitution or federal law, the Yang di-Pertuan
Agong shall act following the advice of the cabinet or a minister acting
under the general authority of the cabinet, except as otherwise
provided by this Constitution; but shall be entitled, at his request, to
any information concerning the government of the Federation which is
available to the cabinet.ā
That is a clear indication that unless
otherwise stated, the king acts under advice. Article 42(1) grants the
power to pardon the king for offences deemed to be committed in the
Federal Territories under advice from the Pardons Board.
Article
42(5) and (11) of the Federal Constitution in effect specify the
composition of the Pardons Board to be the attorney general, the federal
territories minister and three other members appointed by the king.
Again, Article 40(1) indicates this appointment is under advice.
In
this instance, the appointment of a new federal territories minister in
the recent cabinet reshuffle has been linked to Anwar ensuring that he
is not part of the Pardons Board and hence, cannot be held responsible
for any decision.
If the board rules in favour of Najib, no one can stop that connection and the accompanying conjecture from being made.
Finally,
there is Article 42(9): āBefore tendering their advice on any matter, a
Pardons Board shall consider any written opinion which the
attorney-general may have delivered thereon.ā
I canāt see the
attorney-general agreeing that Najib had faced an unfair trial and going
against the decisions of nine eminent judges.
In fact, as the AG,
he should support judicial independence and integrity as well as the
entire court process, thus upholding the rule of law and negating any
attempt to use the pardon process to avoid lawful sentences.
Najibās
pardon - if it comes - is an unmitigated disaster for Malaysia. But
thankfully, it looks like it wonāt. And thatās as it should be. Read all the 100+ comments here......
