‘Damned if I do, damned if I don't', says Anwar on Najib's pardon bid
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim questioned the obsession with Najib Razak displayed by the 'so-called progressive critics', saying there are many other corruption cases that need to be investigated.
PETALING JAYA : Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has again defended his decision to present Najib Razak's pardon application to the Federal Territories Pardons Board (FTPB), saying he would be criticised regardless.
Anwar reiterated that he cannot show prejudice to anyone as the prime minister, and that it was every convict's right to apply for a pardon.
The decision on the application is then up to the pardons board, he said in an interview with Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera.
Acknowledging that some of his critics had claimed this was politically driven, Anwar said: 'I am damned if I do, and damned if I don't.
'So, finally, you do the right thing. What's the right thing to do? (To honour) the right given to every single convict in the federal territories to submit a request (for a pardon).
'Was I a member of the FTPB? No. Was my view solicited? No. Did I offer my advice in terms of the legal complications? Yes, but that was it.
'The perception is therefore that, under Anwar, Najib's sentence was halved, but that's not true.'
In February 2024, the FTPB announced that Najib's prison sentence in his SRC International case had been halved from 12 years to six, and his fine reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million.
Najib is currently serving his jail sentence at Kajang prison.
Anwar questioned the 'obsession' with Najib and his reduced jail term displayed by the 'so-called progressive critics', saying there were many other corruption cases that needed to be investigated.
While he declined to elaborate on these cases since 'investigations are ongoing', he said the nation and his administration should not be bogged down by an obsession with Najib.
'The due process continues, but the issue is why this obsession with this man who is in prison? For God's sake, he's in prison.
'I think it's a blatant, nasty trick by some of these crooks who continue to highlight Najib over and over again so that their case is ignored.
'Let (the unity government) run this country and restore proper governance, rule of law, judicial independence; let us run this country and not be bogged down by one obsession.'
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