Najib’s conditional pardon: Time for DAP to take a strong stance

THE DAP must adopt a strong stance following the Federal Territory Pardon Board's decision to grant a conditional house arrest to former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

According to party insiders, if DAP opts for a ‘docile’ stand on the matter, it would lose a big chunk of its traditional support base.

“It is not the question of disrespecting the wisdom of the King, who chaired the pardons board, but the promises that DAP made to the masses before the pardon hearings," said one DAP insider.

The middle ground of Malaysia is unhappy that Najib is placed under house arrest due to the unprecedented circumstances of it but the main concern is that the country is mired in debt for generations due to the 1MDB scandal.

The pardon also comes at a time when the working class is struggling against the tide of rising living costs with limited room to manoeuvre due to the country's escalating debts, said the insiders.

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) political scientist Datuk Dr Sivamurugan Pandian does not see DAP quitting the cabinet based on the pledge of loyalty that Pakatan Harapan (PH) gave to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Another political scientist, Prof James Chin, opined that DAP should not be leaving the cabinet, as earlier the grassroots made the choice to stay on.

The decision of the pardons board is under the utmost discretion of the King - there is no political party pressure here, said Chin.

Former DAP leader Dr Ong Kian Ming, who had exited the party earlier, posted on social media that it is clear to him that the party cannot simply cite that it respects the decision of the King.

"Its supporters are looking for more concrete actions from the DAP."

"My recommendation, not as a party member, but as a political analyst, is for the DAP to issue an ultimatum to Anwar to remove UMNO from the unity government cabinet next week, before the cabinet meeting.

“Such a move would show PH's seriousness in its disagreement with UMNO's position to seek a pardon for Najib and to raise funds from the public to pay the RM50 million fine on behalf of the former Prime Minister.

“Deputy Prime Minister and party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has openly challenged Anwar to remove UMNO in the past few months. This would be the perfect opportunity for Anwar to take up Zahid’s challenge."

Without the support of BN’s 30 Members of Parliament (MPs), assuming that such a move would lead to the BN withdrawing their support for the unity government, it would be possible to pass Budget 2027 in the year-end parliamentary sitting since the unity government still has a small majority in the Dewan Rakyat, said Ong.

"Anwar would have to quickly appoint replacements for the seven UMNO cabinet members and to get them up to speed so that they can present and debate the budgets for their respective ministries," said Ong.

Issuing such an ultimatum to Anwar would make more sense to the DAP than an announcement that it would resign from the cabinet, as a result of Najib gaining access to a house arrest order, said Ong.

"It would be wrong to blame Hannah Yeoh, who sits on the pardon board, for carrying out the decision, which is ultimately the King's prerogative.

“If anyone should resign immediately, it should probably be Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming, who said in an interview before the Johor state election that he would resign from his ministerial position if BN wins big in Johor and if Najib was freed."

This is a credible threat because if DAP resigns from the cabinet, UMNO can likely cause the collapse of the cabinet should it also decide to resign from cabinet (together with the sole Minister from PBRS, which is part of BN) since this would mean that 13 out of 32 cabinet ministers have resigned, which is probably too many to replace, Ong concluded.

Another DAP veteran leader said it was clear that BN is once again portraying its greedy, selfish, power-hungry side and will do all it can to win the next GE.

“What Anwar should do is get UMNO out of Cabinet and give the positions to Sabah and Sarawak.

“After all, East Malaysian votes are most crucial, and this move will help solidify their support.

“It is time to put an end to UMNO, which in the past brought the nation to its knees,” he added. – September 19, 2026