Pardons Board Approves “50 Per Cent” Off Najib Razak’s Sentence
It would appear that the battle of the sources ended up with CNA being the winner.
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After much speculation, the Pardons Board finally issued a statement on the request for royal pardon filed by jailed former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The statement, issued by the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan), said Najib’s sentence has been halved.
His 12-year jail term is reduced to six and he is expected to be released 23 August 2028 and his fine of RM210 million is now cut to RM50 million.
Failure to pay the fine will see his prison term be increased with the release date to be 23 August 2029.
Pardons Board meeting
The board convened for a meeting on 29 January where five pardon applications were considered, including the one filed by Najib.
The meeting was chaired by Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah who was still Yang di-Pertuan Agong at the time.
His reign as Yang di-Pertuan Agong ended the next day as Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar took over as the 17th YDPA on 31 January.
READ MORE: Sultan Ibrahim Of Johor Arrives At Istana Negara To Take Oath As 17th Agong
Battle of the sources
On 30 January, Utusan Malaysia cited sources saying Najib has been granted a royal pardon and was a free man. However, they later retracted their source-based report and apologised to readers.
READ MORE: Utusan Retracts Najib Being Pardoned Article, Apologises
The very next day, Channel News Asia (CNA), headquartered in Singapore, joined the “source” bandwagon on the Najib drama.
READ MORE: Now CNA’s Source Says Najib Will Only Serve Half Of His 12-Year Prison Sentence
CNA’s source claimed Najib would only face half of his 12-year prison sentence due to a partial royal pardon. His RM210 million fine would also allegedly be reduced to an unspecified amount, based on CNA’s three separate and anonymous sources.
It would appear that in the battle of the sources, CNA has emerged the “winner”.
SRC International trial
Najib has been in prison since August 2022 after he was slapped with a 12-year prison sentence and a RM210 million fine for misappropriating RM42 million of SRC International funds.
In 2020, the KL High Court found him guilty on all seven charges made against him in the SRC trial.
He was found guilty of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
Not only that, he is also still undergoing trial for other charges concerning the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
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