KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes there is a high chance that his political foe Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be accorded a royal pardon following his incarceration this week.
The Pejuang chairman, however, did not provide any context to his claim or how he came to that conclusion.
“For Najib, there is a high possibility that he will be pardoned once he is imprisoned,” he said in a statement today.
Najib was sent to Kajang prison on Tuesday to begin his 12-year sentence after the Federal Court upheld the lower courts’ guilty verdict on all seven charges related to his involvement in the SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption case.
He became the first former prime minister of Malaysia to spend time behind bars following the ruling made by the five-member apex court bench chaired by chief justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat.
Yesterday, a non-governmental organisation, Pertubuhan Jalinan Perpaduan Negara Malaysia, submitted a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to seek a royal pardon for the Pekan MP, and urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to make a similar application to His Majesty.
A royal pardon is one of only two different options that Najib has to pursue any slim possibility of freedom, the other being challenging his guilty verdict under Rule 137 of the Rules of the Federal Court 1995 on grounds of a miscarriage of justice.
Najib’s imprisonment comes over three years since his trial began in 2019, following multiple appeals and postponements caused by various factors.
Dr Mahathir said the long hold-ups in Najib’s SRC International case meant many other cases of corruption and abuse of power involving several other political figures had to be postponed.
“Some criminals have even passed away. Delays in trials will only result in neglected justice,” the Langkawi MP said.
Dr Mahathir believes that even judges are uncomfortable with the numerous pending cases, including several others involving Najib, which he said was aggravated by the latter’s delay tactics during the SRC International hearings.
“Today, there are many reports about serious corruption cases that have yet to begin trial.
“Most probably, these criminals will get away from the long arms of the law.
“It is true, as the saying goes, that justice delayed is justice denied,” he said. – The Vibes, August 25, 2022
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