While the news of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s 12-year-long jail sentence might not be anything new to some of us, what I’m about to say next might.
Even though Najib, 69, was sentenced to 12 years in jail for graft after losing the appeal against one of his smaller cases on Tuesday (22 August), he reappeared in court just yesterday (24 August) for the hearing of the largest case that he is involved in.
The hearing on Tuesday, which involved the country’s top court in Kuala Lumpur rejecting Najib’s final appeal against a 2020 conviction by a lower court, was related to Najib siphoning off money from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund in Malaysia, which he helped co-found back in 2009.
Najib, who acted as Malaysia’s Prime Minister from 2009 to 2018, was also fined RM210 million (approximately S$64.5 million) after he was found guilty of receiving $10 million from a unit of 1MDB through illegal means.
“Doing OK” in Jail
Yesterday (24 August), he travelled to the Kuala Lumpur high court from the Kajang prison complex while clad in a dark-coloured suit and tie for the hearing.
He was also driven there in a black police car that was under heavy scrutiny and entered the courtroom via a private entrance.
Before leaving the courtroom to go back to Kajang, he also waved to reporters after re-entering the police car.
And although Najib himself did not offer any comment as to how he has been getting on in jail, one of his former aides mentioned that the former Prime Minister is “doing OK”.
Nooryana Najwa, Najib’s daughter, also echoed similar sentiments, sharing on social media that her father has since received his basic necessities in prison and has been “getting used to his new routine”.
Will Most Likely Get Pardon
And if you’re wondering how long Najib will “be OK” while in jail, it seems like he’ll be fine, at least according to former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Mahathir, who served as the Prime Minister of Malaysia from July 1981 to October 2003, as well as from May 2018 to March 2020 after Najib stepped down, announced yesterday that Najib will “likely” be getting a royal pardon soon.
This will mean that Najib will be able to walk away without serving his 12-year-long sentence, which might also make some of us question if this entire court case is a scene taken out from the latest Netflix drama.
But no, it’s real.
According to Mahathir, 97, there were “delays in various trials” of Najib’s case, which may eventually lead to justice being denied in this case.
He also mentioned in a statement that “for Najib, it is highly likely that he will be pardoned after being imprisoned”.
No Sign of Response to Application For Now
But it seems like the pardon might not be happening anytime soon, for the palace of King Al-Sultan Abdullah has yet to respond to the possibility of issuing Najib a royal pardon for his jail sentence.
The palace also did not respond immediately to Mahathir’s announcement about Najib likely getting a royal pardon.
But for now, Najib’s supporters have submitted a petition to the place in hopes of obtaining a pardon for him.
Apart from that, Najib is allegedly on good terms with several Malaysia royals, as seen from the social media posts of him participating in Eid celebrations with the king in May this year.
And in addition to the lack of response from the palace, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has also not publicised his views regarding the royal pardon for Najib, who was his former party leader.
Najib’s Charges
And for those who can’t remember what exactly Najib’s been charged with, here’s a quick recap for you again.
Najib currently faces 21 counts of money laundering and four counts of abuse of power (as well as bankruptcy, which cannot be pardoned).
According to investigations, the former Prime Minister apparently received a minimum of RM2.3 billion (approximately S$714.7 million) through illegal transfers that took place between 2011 and 2014.
Apart from that, he also faces three other cases, all of which will result in imprisonment and hefty fines.
And if Najib files for bankruptcy, it will disqualify him from running for further elections as well.
Over US$4.5 Billion Stolen From State Fund
Investigators from Malaysia and the United States also said that around US$4.5 billion (approximately S$6.25 billion) was stolen from 1MDB, with more than US$1 billion (approximately S$1.39 billion) being linked to Najib’s own bank accounts.
Other financial institutions and high-ranking officials worldwide have also been affected as a result of this.
Since then, Najib has continued to insist that he has not done anything wrong, and has claimed that he is the victim of a political vendetta set up by his former mentor.
Relationship Between Mahathir and Najib
With Mahathir and Najib being two of the most well-known names in Malaysia, Mahathir actually supported Najib at first when he ran for Prime Minister.
In 2013, Mahathir publicly campaigned for both Najib and his political party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).
However, he started to turn his back against Najib after information regarding the latter’s corruption linked to 1MDB surfaced.
Mahathir then decided to run again for Prime Minister in 2018 as part of the opposition and successfully won the election against UMNO, which until then had been in power since Malaysia was founded in 1963.
After taking over as Prime Minister, he opened up the cases regarding 1MDB and Najib’s corruption once again, eventually causing Najib to face 42 charges in total.
However, Mahathir resigned in 2020 as his political alliance crumbled.
You can watch this video that simplifies how the alliance crumbled:
Featured Image: Facebook (Najib Razak)