KUALA LUMPUR – Tony Pua has the right to express himself over the Pardons Board’s decision to reduce Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s sentence, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said.
However, Pua need not have used sarcasm, the transport minister added.
DAP, a party in the unity government, will not be taking disciplinary action against Pua, Loke also told Sin Chew Daily in an interview yesterday.
Loke said the party would not ask Pua to withdraw his remarks or apologise because “the Tony Pua I know will not do this”.
While Pua has the right to express himself freely, Loke also noted that his prominence could cause the public to view him as representing DAP.
“It is not the official position of DAP. If it is said by someone other than the leadership, it cannot be counted against the party,” he said, referring to Pua’s sarcastic social media posts on Najib’s commuted sentence.
Loke was asked by Sin Chew Daily about the sedition probe into Pua, a former Damansara MP, who is being investigated over posts on Facebook about Najib’s reduced sentence.
On Monday, Pua was questioned for more than an hour over his posts, which were one-liners laced with sarcasm: “Trust me. It’s not a scam”, “oh wow, after all these years, NAJIB/UMNO cybertrooper still love me”, “I beg your pardon?”, “can someone send me to jail for 1 year and in exchange, pay me RM50 mil?”, “Pretty please?”, and “King Klep pardoned!!”
The staunch critic of Najib and 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has denied any seditious intent and said the police reports lodged against him were by Umno members, as its youth wing had called for reports to be lodged against him nationwide.
The Pardons Board on February 2 announced a reduction of former Umno president Najib’s prison sentence from 12 years to six, and his RM210 million fine was slashed to RM50 million.
His conviction and original penalties were imposed by the high court in July 2020 for corruption involving RM42 million belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former 1MDB subsidiary.
Najib began serving his sentence on August 23, 2022 when he lost his final appeal at the Federal Court.
Under his reduced sentence, Najib will be released on August 23, 2028 if he pays the RM50 million fine, but will remain incarcerated for a year longer, until August 23, 2029, if he fails to do so. However, he is also eligible to apply for parole next year, after serving half of his reduced sentence. – February 7, 2024