BERSIH has launched a petition requesting Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah not to pardon former prime minister Najib Razak.

The petition launched yesterday and has garnered 97,900 signatures as of 10am. The goal is to attain 150,000.

“We, your loyal subjects, humbly appeal to Your Majesty, not to exercise your discretion to pardon former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak for his crime against the Malaysian public,” the petition read. 

“He has been convicted of stealing public funds in the SRC International case and had been given due process of a fair trial.”

Bersih said Najib was not deserving of a pardon because he had enriched himself to the detriment of the people.

“As the rakyat, we had to suffer the impact of corruption by elected officials who enriched themselves with our national wealth instead of using it to develop this country.”

To make matters worse, Najib had also disgraced the country with his actions, Bersih said.

“With all our hearts we appeal to Your Majesty to consider our request to deny any appeal for pardon by Najib, who has brought shame to this country. 

“As a nation, we must not tolerate corruption or the corrupt, whoever that person may be. 

“Your Majesty, help us to uplift our heads high once again, to make us proud again as Malaysians.”

On Tuesday, the Federal Court quashed Najib Razak’s appeal and upheld his sentence in the SRC International case.

The apex court ordered the Pekan lawmaker to begin his 12-year jail sentence immediately.

In addition to this, the former prime minister will have to pay a RM210 million fine in default of another five years of imprisonment.

The five-person apex court bench was chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat. The other Federal Court bench members were Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and senior judges P. Nallini, Mary Lim Thiam Suan and Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah.

On July 28, 2020, then High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, who has since been elevated to the Court of Appeal, sentenced Najib to 10 years in prison on each of the three counts of criminal breach of trust and each of the three counts of money laundering, and 12 years in prison and a RM210 million fine, in default of five years in prison, in the case of abuse of power.

Last year, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s decision and dismissed Najib’s appeal to set aside his conviction and sentence. – August 26, 2022.