Najib Remains MP As He Applied For Royal Pardon, Will Only Be Disqualified If Petition Is Denied

Jailed Ex-PM Najib Razak Submits Petition For Royal Pardon, Will Remain MP Until Decision Reached

Days after former Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak was sentenced to jail for 12 years due to corruption, he submitted a royal pardon that may save his seat as an MP.

According to Parliament Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun on 5 Sep, he will remain an MP even though anyone jailed for more than a year will lose their seat, at least until a decision is made.

This is because he submitted the royal pardon within 14 days.

Najib will only lose MP seat if royal pardon petition rejected

Reuters reported Mr Azhar as saying Najib would lose his seat in Pekan only if the petition was rejected.

According to him, Najib filed the petition on 1 Sep through his lawyer, and the Prime Minister’s Department received it the next day.

“This means that the status of Najib Razak as the Pekan MP remains unchanged and will only be finalised after the petition has been concluded,” Mr Azhar said.

As he has been jailed, Najib will not be able to contest the next general election, The Straits Times reported.

Two days after the petition was received, he was sent to hospital for tests on 4 Sep due to an unspecified ailment.

Jailed for 12 years, began serving sentence on 23 Aug

Najib was jailed on 23 Aug after failing in his final appeal against seven charges, including abuse of power, money laundering, and criminal breach of trust.

The former prime minister was also fined S$64.8 million (RM210 million).

His wife, Rosmah Mansor, was found guilty of corruption on 1 Sep and sentenced to 10 years of jail, as well as a S$301.4 million (RM970 million) fine, though she remains out on bail.

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Featured image adapted from Najib Razak on Facebook.