For many Malaysians, the reduced punishment for disgraced former leader Najib Razak is seen as the ultimate betrayal, with authorities appearing to go soft on a corrupt 70-year-old whose ill-gotten gains once helped fund a Hollywood movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Malaysia’s king last week halved a 12-year jail sentence for the nation’s sixth prime minister, who was imprisoned for graft and money laundering related to the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Najib was found guilty of siphoning $US4.5 billion ($6.9 billion) from 1MDB, some of which ended up in the hands of his stepson, Jho Low. Low would finance the 2013 film, The Wolf of Wall Street, starring DiCaprio, having met the actor at a party three years earlier.
Low remains on the run from authorities, with reports he could be hiding in the Chinese city of Macau.
PM urges Malaysians to accept decision
In the wake of the ruling from outgoing king Al-Sultan Abdullah, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged calm on Monday after defending a decision that critics say could jeopardise anti-corruption efforts in the South-East Asian nation.
The pardons board, chaired by the king, also cut fines for Najib — from 210 million ringgit ($68 million) to 50 million ($16 million) — without giving a reason for its decision.
Malaysia’s king plays a ceremonial role but the monarch can grant clemency to convicted persons under discretionary powers granted by the federal constitution.
It was one of the last acts by the king before he was succeeded by Sultan Ibrahim from Johor. Both King Abdullah and Najib are from the state of Pahang.
The family of Najib — he has always denied wrongdoing — said it was disappointed by the ruling, having hoped for immediate release after a full pardon.
‘He made us a laughing stock around the world’
Malaysian lawyer Shamini Flint called the decision a “slap in the face for justice”, fearing the reduced sentence could see Najib out of prison before the next general election, likely to be in 2026 or 2027.
“I don’t think any right-thinking Malaysian can be comfortable with this outcome for someone who single-handedly destroyed our country’s economy and made us a laughing stock around the world,” Ms Flint told the ABC.
“The people who put their reputations, livelihoods — and even their lives — on the line within the judicial system to bring Najib to justice will feel very hard done by.
“It was a real slap in the face for justice, considering that Malaysians who committed far lesser crimes, like stealing basic necessities to survive during COVID, got absolutely no mercy or compassion, as the prime minister called it.”
Will Malaysia stick to its progressive agenda?
The sentence reduction comes amid accusations that Mr Anwar is backsliding on promised reforms, after prosecutors last year dropped corruption cases against Najib and other leaders linked to the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), which partnered with Mr Anwar to form a government in November 2022.
Mr Anwar said the king’s decision to commute Najib’s sentence was final and that the monarch was not obliged to provide an explanation, adding that it was “a matter of compassion”.
“We understand that people have strong views. So, we give a little leeway but after explanations are provided, it should stop,” Mr Anwar said.
He also admitted submitting Najib’s application for a royal pardon to the board for discussion, although he denied doing so under pressure from UMNO.
“I said as soon as I receive any appeal, I requested that the pardons board discuss it,” he said.
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Latheefa Koya, the former chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), described the sentence reduction for Najib as “a bitter blow” to the agency and its officers who investigated 1MDB.
“And this reduction of sentence comes as MACC is still trying to recover 1MDB monies overseas … Those other countries are carefully watching — will they cooperate now?” she said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ramkarpal Singh, a former deputy law minister from the Democratic Action Party, part of Anwar’s ruling coalition, called on the pardons board to disclose its reasons for commuting Najib’s sentence.
“The efforts of the government in combating corruption have been seriously undermined by the developments in Najib’s case as the seriousness of his offence is known the world over,” he said in a statement.
Of the $US4.5 billion ($6.9 billion) stolen from 1MDB in a globe-spanning scheme, about $US1 billion ($1.5 billion) flowed into the personal accounts of Najib, Malaysian and US investigators have said. He remains on trial for corruption in several other 1MDB-linked cases.
Penang-born Ms Flint, who is also the author of 78 books, was hopeful that Malaysia would stick to its anti-corruption track under Prime Minister Anwar, who was elected in November 2022.
“Broadly speaking, the Anwar government has been doing well, but in this instance it has pandered to elements within UMNO to push for a reduction of Najib’s sentence,” she said. UMNO is Najib’s former party which he led between 2009 and 2018.
“But I’m still happy that Najib ended up in jail as it showed a nation with collective purpose whose sense of justice was greater than any elite — I still think it’s transformed the idea of what Malaysia is.”
ABC/wires