KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — Convicted Datuk Seri Najib Razak is still Pekan MP for now.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun said a formal pardon petition had been filed with his office on September 2, well within the 14-day time frame allowed under the law.
“This means Yang Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak’s status as Pekan Member of Parliament is unchanged for the time being and will only be finalised when the pardon petition is settled,” he said in a statement this afternoon.
The deadline for Najib’s qualification as an MP was tomorrow.
“Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s status as an MP ends tomorrow. I will issue a statement today,”Azhar told reporters earlier today after attending the Climate Change Symposium 2022 at the Parliament building.
Najib was sent to Kajang Prison on August 23 after a five-judge panel at the Federal Court upheld his conviction, 12-year jail sentence, and RM210 million fine for stealing RM42 million in public funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
He was at risk of losing his qualification as an MP if he did not file a formal petition for a free pardon or any other court procedure within 14 days to overturn or commute his jail sentence and fine to below one year and less than RM2,000, based on Article 48 of the Federal Constitution.
A royal pardon falls under Article 42(1) of the Federal Constitution, which gives the Agong or Sultan the powers to grant a pardon or reprieve to a convict.
