PETALING JAYA: Former Skudai assemblyman Marina Ibrahim has claimed that a senior DAP leader privately supports house arrest and a possible pardon for former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak after the next general election, while publicly criticising the issue.
She said the conversation became the turning point that caused her to lose faith in politics, dismissing claims that her decision to retire was due to being moved to another constituency for the upcoming Johor state election.
In a lengthy social media post on Wednesday (July 1), Marina claimed the conversation took place during a meeting with the leader, whom she did not name, at a community clothing shop in Skudai on April 12.
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She alleged that the leader, who was vocal in criticising Najib, told her there was "nothing wrong" with allowing him to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest because of his past contributions.
Marina also claimed the leader said it would be preferable for Najib to receive a royal pardon only after the next general election.
"If Najib is pardoned before the election, the Chinese community's trust in us will decline," she quoted the leader as saying.
Marina alleged that the same leader discussed managing public perception at the party's special congress and that some leaders could resign from ministerial posts if Najib were pardoned too early, even if they would continue to support the Federal Government.
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"To me, it sounded more like a political performance," she said.
She also questioned why DAP leaders had only recently begun raising the issue of a possible pardon for Najib after Johor Umno announced it would not cooperate with DAP in the coming election.
"If DAP truly regarded this as a red line that could not be (crossed), why did it continue hoping to cooperate with Barisan Nasional (in Johor) for the past four years?" she asked.
Marina accused political leaders of applying double standards, saying actions they once condemned became acceptable when committed by their own side.
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"Previously, when others did it, we said it was wrong. Today, when we do the same thing, suddenly it becomes right," she wrote.
She also asked if politicians had begun manipulating public trust as part of their strategy, saying that principles appeared to change according to the circumstances.
Marina announced her retirement from politics in May after declining to defend her seat.
She said she left politics because she could no longer reconcile her principles with what she described as political hypocrisy.
