Najib applies for royal pardon, remains a lawmaker for now

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, who began a 12-year prison sentence for his role in the 1MDB scandal last month, will remain a lawmaker pending the outcome of his petition for a royal pardon, said the Parliament Speaker.

Najib applied for the pardon last Friday (Sep 2), a little over a week after the nation’s top court upheld his criminal conviction in relation to the troubled state fund, House of Representatives Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun said in a statement on Monday. Najib would only lose his Member of Parliament (MP) status if his petition is rejected, in accordance with the constitution, he added.

Najib is Malaysia’s first leader to be convicted and imprisoned. Having used up all legal avenues, a royal pardon is Najib’s only hope of securing an early release and resurrecting his political career.

MPs lose their office once they are sentenced to a year or more in prison, and fined at least RM2,000 (S$626), as stipulated by the constitution. Still, lawmakers who file for a royal pardon within 2 weeks of the verdict can maintain their status until the pardon is dealt with, the constitution states.

The Federal Court on Aug 23 reaffirmed an earlier judgment that sentenced Najib to prison in the case involving the transfer of RM42 million belonging to SRC International to his personal bank account.

He was first convicted in July 2020 on charges of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust involving in the SRC case. The sentence, which includes a RM210 million fine on top of the jail term, was maintained by the Court of Appeal in December, with a judge referring to Najib’s actions as a “national embarrassment”. BLOOMBERG