KUALA LUMPUR – Convicted ex-prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s daughter Nooryana Najwa Najib has expressed her disappointment with the Pardons Board’s decision against granting her father a full pardon.
Nooryana has said that while she “appreciates” the board’s decision to halve Najib’s prison sentence from 12 to six years, the former Umno president should have been fully pardoned and immediately released from prison instead.
“(Najib) and his family remain steadfast and confident (in our conviction) that he is not guilty,” she said in an Instagram post today.
She also pointed to statements by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Sebli, who was the sole dissenting judge in the five-member Federal Court panel that upheld Najib’s conviction in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.
“Those who follow the (SRC International) case closely certainly know about and agree with the judgment by (Rahman) that a great injustice has been done (against Najib) and the right decision is that he (Najib) deserves to be released and acquitted,” Nooryana said.
The Federal Court hearing saw the panel rejecting Najib’s appeal against his conviction and sentence after ruling that he was the author of his own misfortune.
Najib began his prison sentence on August 23 the same year after losing his final appeal. He submitted his application for a pardon in September the same year.
Earlier today, it was announced that Najib would serve half his 12-year prison sentence and pay a reduced fine – from RM210 million to RM50 million.
The announcement was made through the board’s secretariat for the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya under the legal division of the Prime Minister’s Department in a statement at 3.30pm.
“However, if the fine is not paid, the period of imprisonment will be increased for another year whereby his release will be on August 23, 2029,” the board said.
Najib was convicted by the high court in July 2020 of corruption involving RM42 million of funds belonging to SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Najib still has three other pending court cases: alleged corruption involving RM2.3 billion of 1MDB funds, which is currently in the trial stage; misappropriation of RM6.6 billion in relation to the International Petroleum Investment Company, for which trial is to begin in June; and money-laundering charges involving RM27 million of SRC International funds, which are to be heard in September. – February 2, 2024