TO a great degree, ex-premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak should be counting his blessings that he only has to serve a dozen years behind bars for his maiden graft-related conviction (he still has four more 1MDB-linked cases pending) given he was originally sentenced to a jail term of 72 years.
But like it or not, Lady Luck was with him as the Kuala Lumpur High Court which meted out his sentence in the RM42 mil fund embezzlement case pertaining to SRC International Bhd ruled that his sentence was to run concurrently.
Having said that, the end result is that he could walk out a free man five decades earlier.
Hence, news about Najib who stands out with the moniker Bossku among his supporters filing a petition seeking a royal pardon for his conviction leaves a bad taste in Charles Hector’s mouth.
The lawyer-cum-human rights advocate/activist is concerned over the prospect of the Pekan MP walking out of the Kajang Prison “in months if the King grants him a pardon”.
“Does Najib acknowledge his crime – is he sorry?” asked Hector in his latest blog. “A pardon should generally come into play if one is repentant – hence his sentenced shortened. Of course, in exceptional cases, pardon is given for miscarriage of justice when an innocent man is wrongly convicted.”
Utmost in the mind of Hector is that if Najib is pardoned now, it will have an impact on the Malaysian law and its courts. For example, what is the use of trials if the guilty party can be speedily pardoned?
“Should we have a law that the guilty party should generally not be pardoned until he has served at least 50% (or 75%) of his sentence? Food for thought,” proposed Hector.
“Well, Najib has filed a petition for a pardon and until the petition is disposed of, he will remain the Pekan MP and he will continue to receive his monthly allowances (at the expense of Malaysian taxpayers).”
“Is this just, or should we push for the repeal of Article 48(4)(b) which means that after all court appeals are over, he (Najib) immediately ceases to be a MP? There is currently no time limit set for petitions for a pardon to be disposed of – will it be months or years?” questioned Hector.
More specifically on the royal pardon sought by Najib, Hector opined that “it is not a matter of the King can act on his own” but that “he must act on the advice of the Pardons Board”.
On that note, questions abound over how the three independent board members (apart from the Attorney-General and the Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim) would vote.
“Did the King appoint the three other members of Pardons Board (himself) or were they appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister? How does the Pardons Board decide – simple majority?” wondered Hector.
“Should the King pardon him so fast ending in him being released from prison earlier? Well, that will sadden me and many others.
“What (then) is the use of (our) laws? What is the use of trials, appeals and courts if a guilty person sentenced to 72 years only has to serve 12 years as the courts ordered his sentence to run concurrently and not consecutively?” – Sept 7, 2022
