Bersih launches online petition asking Agong to deny Najib royal pardon
A view of Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur. — Picture by Firdaus Latif
Wednesday, 24 Aug 2022 2:22 PM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — An online petition addressed to Istana Negara requesting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah reject any opportunity to pardon former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was launched today.
As of the time of writing, the petition, which was started by electoral watchdog Bersih, had garnered nearly 2,000 signatures out of its 2,500 target on the website change.org, a popular site for hosting digital petitions.
"We, your loyal subjects, humbly appeal to Your Majesty, not to exercise your discretion to pardon former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for his crime against the Malaysian public. He has been convicted of stealing public funds in the SRC International case and had been given due process of a fair trial.
"As the rakyat, we had to suffer the impact of corruption by elected officials who enriched themselves with our national wealth instead of using it to develop this country,” the petition read.
The petition said Najib has "brought shame" to the country, and as a nation, Malaysia must not tolerate corruption or the corrupt, "whoever that person may be".
"Let Najib serve his 12 years in jail and pay the RM210 million fine so as to serve as an example to any leaders who think they can corruptly abuse their position of authority," it added.
The royal pardon falls under Article 42(1) of the Federal Constitution, which gives the Agong or Sultan the powers to grant a pardon or reprieve to a convict, wiping clean any legal punishments to provide a "clean slate”.
Yesterday, when Najib’s lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik asked for a stay of the jail sentence and fine while his client pursues a review of the Federal Court’s decision, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat dismissed this as there is no provision for such a stay.
Najib had failed in his final appeal against the High Court's guilty conviction in his SRC International case, which saw the Federal Court ordering him to serve his 12-year sentence with immediate effect. He was also fined RM210 million.
He had been found guilty of one count of abuse of power, three counts of criminal breach of trust, and three counts of money laundering.
After spending an hour at the courtroom with his family, aide and fellow party members, he departed to Kajang Prison to serve his sentence.
Wednesday, 24 Aug 2022 2:22 PM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — An online petition addressed to Istana Negara requesting the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah reject any opportunity to pardon former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was launched today.
As of the time of writing, the petition, which was started by electoral watchdog Bersih, had garnered nearly 2,000 signatures out of its 2,500 target on the website change.org, a popular site for hosting digital petitions.
"We, your loyal subjects, humbly appeal to Your Majesty, not to exercise your discretion to pardon former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for his crime against the Malaysian public. He has been convicted of stealing public funds in the SRC International case and had been given due process of a fair trial.
"As the rakyat, we had to suffer the impact of corruption by elected officials who enriched themselves with our national wealth instead of using it to develop this country,” the petition read.
The petition said Najib has "brought shame" to the country, and as a nation, Malaysia must not tolerate corruption or the corrupt, "whoever that person may be".
"Let Najib serve his 12 years in jail and pay the RM210 million fine so as to serve as an example to any leaders who think they can corruptly abuse their position of authority," it added.
An image accompanying the petition by Bersih to deny Datuk Seri Najib Razak any chance of royal pardon.
The royal pardon falls under Article 42(1) of the Federal Constitution, which gives the Agong or Sultan the powers to grant a pardon or reprieve to a convict, wiping clean any legal punishments to provide a "clean slate”.
Yesterday, when Najib’s lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik asked for a stay of the jail sentence and fine while his client pursues a review of the Federal Court’s decision, Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat dismissed this as there is no provision for such a stay.
Najib had failed in his final appeal against the High Court's guilty conviction in his SRC International case, which saw the Federal Court ordering him to serve his 12-year sentence with immediate effect. He was also fined RM210 million.
He had been found guilty of one count of abuse of power, three counts of criminal breach of trust, and three counts of money laundering.
After spending an hour at the courtroom with his family, aide and fellow party members, he departed to Kajang Prison to serve his sentence.
Everybody will remember Hisyam as the lawyer who defended Najib with spectacular failure.
ReplyDeletePlease don't forget the Agong invited Najib to some Aidilfitri event in Jun 2022 despite Najib being a convicted man although waiting for his final appeal then.
ReplyDeleteI am not optimistic that Bersih's petition will be effective because the issue of a royal pardon will definitely become a political issue and the Agong will be smack in the middle.
His advisors did not give the Agong good advice for the Aidilfitri event and they may also not advise the Agong correctly regarding the pardon.
I signed the petition to the Agong NOT to consider any Pardon for Najib.
ReplyDeleteHis crimes against Malaysia are too serious, he must experience the penalty as sentenced by the Court