Malaysia’s ruling PH restates anti-corruption pledge as Najib’s potential pardon looms

Malaysia’s ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition has doubled down on its pledge to stamp out corruption, as all eyes turn to the country’s Pardons Board, which is reportedly set to discuss the possible release of disgraced former leader Najib Razak at a meeting this week. The Pardons Board, chaired by the country’s king, is expected to meet on Friday to discuss potentially granting Najib clemency from his ongoing jail sentence for corruption linked to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, according to local news reports. The revelation adds a fresh spin to the drama surrounding Najib’s earlier attempt at securing a court order to complete his sentence in his home after his 12-year jail term was halved and his fine reduced from 210 million ringgit (US$51.6 million) to 50 million ringgit following a decision by former king Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah in 2024. Should the pardons board, led by current king Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, grant Najib a full pardon, it would mean his immediate release from prison and his records wiped clean of all existing criminal records, similar to when Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was freed from a sodomy conviction in 2018. In an apparent response to a news report on the Pardons Board meeting by local Chinese daily Sin Chew Daily, the PH secretaries’ council said the coalition continued to reject corruption and abuse of power, and that any individual found guilty of such offences, especially in high-profile cases, “must complete their sentences in full”. “Pakatan Harapan was built on the support of Malaysians … who placed high hopes on our Reform agenda and the creation of a country that is clean, with integrity and responsible,” the secretaries’ council said in a statement on Wednesday. “This trust demands that we continue to be consistent in upholding principled positions, even if we face challenging situations and pressure from various angles,” the statement added without naming any individual. The Sin Chew report claimed that PH’s presidential council was briefed on Tuesday evening on the timing and agenda of the Pardons Board meeting by Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh, who sits on the board by virtue of her ministerial post. When contacted, Yeoh’s press secretary Ahmad Fazli Mohd Yadi denied that the minister had met with the presidential council or briefed its members on the matter, but could not confirm if a Pardons Board meeting was scheduled for Friday. The National Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sources close to the matter said that Najib’s clemency application was on the agenda for the Pardons Board meeting this week, according to a report by local English news site FreeMalaysiaToday, though it was not clear whether a decision would be made. It was never confirmed publicly whether Najib had filed an application for clemency this year. In April, the former prime minister dropped his legal bid to compel the government to carry out an alleged addendum to Sultan Abdullah’s 2024 decree that he said allowed him to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest. No reason was given for his decision. A full pardon would deal another blow to the already battered credibility of Anwar’s ruling coalition, which experts say is facing a crisis of confidence among its supporters angered over its failure to deliver substantive reforms. “Of course, the government can detach the accountability and put the decision-making cleanly with the royal institution. And that will likely be the messaging if it happened,” Aziff Azuddin, research director at think tank Iman Research, told This Week in Asia. “But the public would still read this as something that happened under the Madani government’s watch,” Aziff added, referring to Anwar’s government tagline, which roughly translates to civilisation. A royal pardon for Najib – who remains deeply popular among his Malay-majority support base – would also boost the growing momentum of his former ruling Umno party, which has enjoyed a resurgence with decisive victories over its federal partners but electoral rivals PH in two state elections over the past two months. In a response to PH’s statement, Umno secretary general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki accused the coalition partner of double standards by demanding that all convicted felons complete their jail terms when Anwar had received a royal pardon previously. “Their latest action indirectly reveals the ‘true colours’ of PH who have repeatedly made light of and disputed the Institution of Malay Rulers for their own political interests,” Asyraf said in a statement. Azmi Hassan, senior fellow at the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, said that with national polls due in a little over a year, the stand-off over Najib’s royal pardon would drive a wedge further between the two uneasy partners. “It is already a full-blown war between PH and BN,” Azmi said, referring to the Barisan Nasional coalition led by Umno.

Malaysia’s ruling PH restates anti-corruption pledge as Najib’s potential pardon looms

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Pardons Board is set to meet this week to discuss clemency for Najib, who is in jail for corruption, according to media reports

The Pardons Board is set to meet this week to discuss clemency for Najib, who is in jail for corruption, according to media reports