KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s pardons board on Friday announced to reduce the jail term of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, currently in prison for corruption, to six years.
He was sentenced to 12 years in jail in in 2022 for misuse of public money in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB financial scam.
The board in a statement said that after considering opinions and advice it has decided to approve a 50 percent reduction for the sentence and fine imposed on Najib Razak.
The board, which chaired by Malaysia’s former ruler, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, and also comprising of attorney general, on Monday met, two days before the ruler handed the rotational throne to a successor.
It said Najib would be released from the jail in 2028 while his fine reduced to 50 million ringgits ($10.6 million). The board said an extra year would be added to his jail term if he failed to pay the fine.
After a lengthy trial Najib was proven guilty in 2020 for misuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust over the transfer of 42 million ringgit ($8.9 million).
The 70-year-old, who was prime minister from 2009 to 2018, had said he did not receive a fair chance during hearing, alleging that a judge had a conflict of interest. He further said his new legal team was not allowed enough time to study the case.
He was removed from power at the polls in 2018 by an opposition alliance of Malaysia’s political patriarch Mahathir Mohamad.
It is pertinent to mention that Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, with a unique arrangement where the throne is changed every five years between rulers of the nine Malaysian states headed by centuries-old Muslim royalty.
