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Joseph Sipalan

Malaysia’s Pardons Board has postponed discussions on disgraced former leader Najib Razak’s pardon application, days after widespread public outrage over the possibility that he could walk free from his corruption conviction.
The country has been in an uproar since it was revealed earlier this week that Najib’s application for clemency was on the agenda of the board’s meeting, chaired by King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar.
However, Putrajaya said on Friday the king, constitutionally empowered to grant pardons to convicted felons serving their sentences, had decreed that discussion on Najib’s application be “postponed to the next Pardons Board meeting that will be held in future”.
The king, meanwhile, granted pardons to 65 convicts effective from Friday, the government said in a statement.

The statement came just moments after Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, president of Najib’s Umno party, expressed optimism of a positive outcome. “Hopefully there will be great news today,” Zahid, who is also Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, said in his opening speech at the party’s general assembly on Friday, after rolling out a red-carpet welcome for Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor.
Umno has consistently pushed for a full pardon for Najib, who has maintained his innocence and claimed that his conviction was politically motivated.
Najib, who was jailed in 2022, holds the dubious distinction of being Malaysia’s first former prime minister to be jailed for corruption after he was found guilty in a case involving 42 million ringgit (US$10.3 million) siphoned from a former unit of state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.
The former prime minister was granted some reprieve in 2024 when then-king Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah halved his 12-year sentence and reduced his fine from 210 million ringgit to 50 million ringgit.
He later attempted to secure a court order to compel the government to enforce an alleged “addendum” to the then king’s decree allowing him to serve out the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. But he dropped his bid in April after more than a year of pushing his case. No reason was given for his decision.
‘Death of rule of law’
Had Najib been granted clemency, it would have meant his immediate release from prison and his criminal record expunged. This could fuel Umno’s political resurgence following decisive victories in two state elections over Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition since July, analysts say.
Umno leaders had earlier hit out at PH, with which they hold an uneasy alliance in the federal government, accusing it of double standards for demanding no royal pardons for high-profile convicts when the prime minister himself had benefited from one.
Anwar was freed more than halfway through a five-year jail sentence for sodomy in 2018, after he was granted a full pardon. Like Najib, he and his supporters have also maintained his innocence and that all previous charges against him were aimed at ending his political career.


The prospect of Najib being granted a full pardon did not sit well with PH, which had for years campaigned against the alleged corruption and excesses of his administration.
“It would mean one thing for certain – the absolute death of the rule of law,” former deputy law minister Hanipa Maidin was quoted as saying by local political news site Malaysiakini.
Malaysians were also quick to point out that a pardon could set the wrong precedent for future politicians. “It will encourage more politicians to be corrupted cos they can escape from the rule of law through asking [for a] pardon,” read one social media comment.


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The king pardoned 65 other convicts but decreed that discussion on Najib’s application be postponed to the next Pardons Board meeting


The king pardoned 65 other convicts but decreed that discussion on Najib’s application be postponed to the next Pardons Board meeting.


Malaysia pauses Najib’s pardon decision amid public backlash

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The king pardoned 65 other convicts but decreed that discussion on Najib’s application be postponed to the next Pardons Board meeting

The king pardoned 65 other convicts but decreed that discussion on Najib’s application be postponed to the next Pardons Board meeting