Pardons Board's decision was fair, says PM

PETALING JAYA: The Pardons Board’s decision on commuting Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s sentence into half was fair, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, the prime minister said Najib had gone through a legal process and was now serving a prison sentence after his conviction.

However, he said it is the right of every citizen to appeal to the King for pardons against their conviction.

As a constitutional monarch, Anwar said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was the bastion to uphold the constitution and the rule of law.

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He added that the King would consult the Attorney-General and the Prime Minister among others, before making a decision on granting a pardon.

Anwar also noted that he used to sit in the Pardons Board when he was in charge of the Federal Territories.

“The king after listening to the board finally decided to reduce the sentence by 50% which means if the RM50mil (fine) is paid then he will be released in Aug 2028 but if it is not paid then it will be extended to another year to 2029," he said in the interview on Friday (Feb 2).

"Now having said that there was an ongoing case in court through a judicial process... independently... (That) has to continue," he added while referring to the 1MDB trial.

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"At the same time, he has every right to appeal to the new King. So I think the process has to be respected," he added.

He said the decision was beyond the Prime Minister or the government.

"I respect the decision of the then king," he said, adding that Najib still had avenues to appeal the decision at a later stage.

ALSO READ: Najib gets reduction in jail time, fine

Announcing the decision earlier on Friday (Feb 2), the Pardons Board said the convicted former prime minister’s jail term has been reduced from 12 years to six.

According to a statement by the board, Najib will be released on Aug 23, 2028 and the fine has been reduced to RM50mil from RM210mil.

Najib was serving a 12-year sentence after being found guilty of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering in relation to RM42mil that had been siphoned from SRC International, a former 1MBD subsidiary. He was also fined RM210mil.

The former prime minister was also currently on trial to answer charges of abuse of power that allegedly brought him financial benefit to the tune of RM2.28bil, believed to have been 1MDB funds.