IT hasn’t even been a day since Datuk Seri Najib Razak went to jail (at the time when the Facebook posting was penned) for crimes related to RM42 mil belonging to government company money SRC International Sdn Bhd yet there are already so-called legal experts who claimed that the prisoner or his next-of-kin can commence the process of obtaining royal pardon for him.
What makes Najib so special that he has to be granted a royal pardon before having even warmed his prison bed? What about the billions of ringgit in financial burden, shame and bad name that he has brought to his motherland? The 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd) debt balance alone stood at RM32.08 bil as of June 30, 2022.
Are we to forget his misdeeds simply because he is the son of former prime minister Tun Abdul Razak, his stature as one of the four Orang Besar Berempat Pahang (Four Major Chiefs) and that he is deemed as a Bugis warrior?
In fact, his action has brought big shame to the name of Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. Is this the person whom we want to forgive in such a hurry?
Allow me to remind fellow readers of my Facebook posting dated June 13 entitled “Seeking Royal Pardon is Never Easy” where, among others I mentioned the popular assumption among the masses that UMNO leaders from the court cluster as well as their supporters want the 15th General Election (GE15) to be held early to avoid going to jail and that should UMNO returns to power, it is easy to secure royal pardon or to drop all court charges.
But before that, I have to mention and accord appreciation to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government which started the impeachment process and to the Government of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as well as Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob for not interfering in judicial affairs. Well done and thank you.
Not an escape route
In all fairness, a royal pardon is not as simple as described or expected. It is not a stand-alone act and at the whim and fancy of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (or the Malay sultans). Instead, it is anchored on “Constitutional Supremacy” and “Sovereignty of Law” as enshrined in the Rukun Negara (National Principles).
First of all, it is not necessarily that UMNO will win (GE15) until they can form a government by itself and returning to act as they wish. Those days are long gone. It was ended by Najib himself when he led UMNO to a defeat in GE14.
Secondly, it is not that easy to call off the on-going trial of UMNO leaders and to grant royal pardon to those found guilty and deserve to be punished. The risk to any party who undermine and abuse a royal pardon is immense.
UMNO may be walking on the path of destruction while the institutions involved will be openly opposed by the masses.
The royal pardon granted to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s in 2018 is often cited as a precedent to forgive Najib.
But Najib has intentionally forgotten that Anwar had served more than three years of imprisonment beginning in 2015 prior to be pardoned.
His pardon was presented before the voters in PH’s manifesto. Moreover, his crime did not burden the country and the common people with billions of ringgit in debt unlike what Najib did in the SRC International and 1MDB cases.
Supporters of the court cluster deliberately forget or are unaware that the late Datuk Seri Harun Idris also served a long prison term in the criminal breach of trust (CBT) pertaining to the Bank Rakyat case before being granted pardon.
He was imprisoned in 1977 and was only pardoned in 1982. His release alongside 62 other inmates was to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the country’s independence.
Harun did not siphoned the money for himself but for the staging of Muhammad Ali-Joe Bugner’s boxing match in Kuala Lumpur in 1975.
More classic examples
So did the late Datuk Mokhtar Hashim who killed his political enemy, Datuk Mohamad Taha Talib in 1982. He was sentenced to death in 1983 but was given amnesty to life imprisonment the following year by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
He was tried in Kuala Lumpur and imprisoned in the Pudu Prison. In 1991 he was granted a second amnesty and was released after nine years in prison.
So it is not as easy as described for Yang di-Pertuan Agong (or other the Malay Sultans) to grant royal pardon. The burden of responsibility under the law is very heavy because it is His Majesty’s absolute right.
At the end of the day, it is he who has to bear the burden of responsibility and risks emanating from his action – not the Prime Minister or the Amnesty Board who only render advice.
If we can still remember, even Anwar’s royal pardon was once challenged on a procedural issue.
In conclusion, a total pardon for Najib and his gang (if they are also found guilty) is not something automatic or has been carved in stone regardless of whether UMNO wins or loses (in GE15).
That has not even taken into account the political dynamics of the country and that of UMNO itself. Even within UMNO, not everyone wants the court cluster to be freed or forgiven.
There are already clusters that would prefer if some or all members of the judicial cluster ae imprisoned as one way to cleanse and heal the party. – Aug 25, 2022
Veteran journalist A. Kadir Jasin is a former Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) leader.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
