KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Umno’s plan to petition the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to pardon former president Datuk Seri Najib Razak will not jeopardise its relations with other coalitions in the national unity government, said Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin.
The Umno vice-president said the party was simply demonstrating gratitude to former prime minister Najib, who had led the Malay nationalists for nine years until 2018, when Pakatan Harapan defeated Barisan Nasional in the general election. The two coalitions were now allied.
“The relationship with PH in the unity government is not an issue, (the matter is) up to the Agong’s consideration; this is Umno sending the pardon (request) to the Agong,” he told reporters after attending an Umno fast-breaking event at the World Trade Centre here.
He reiterated the party’s earlier statement that Umno members felt Najib was denied justice.
Earlier today, Umno secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the party’s supreme council has decided it will appeal to the Agong to consider pardoning Najib over his conviction for misappropriating RM42 million from a former 1MDB unit.
On August 23, 2022, Najib began serving his 12-year prison sentence in the SRC case, where he was convicted of criminal breach of trust, power abuse and money laundering in relation to SRC’s RM42 million.
Just days after he became a prisoner, Najib had on September 2, 2022 filed his application for a royal pardon in the SRC case. This bid for pardon has yet to be considered.
