WHAT are former prime minister Najib Razak’s options now that his final appeal to overturn his conviction and sentence in the SRC International case has failed?

Najib was sentenced to 12 years in jail and fined RM210 million for his crimes.

Dewan Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun yesterday said the former PM has filed a petition seeking a royal pardon.

Azhar said Najib filed the petition on September 2. In the meantime, Najib remains the Pekan MP.

Apparently Najib has decided to forgo applying for a judicial review. Under Rule 137 of the Rules of the Federal Court 1995, the apex court has the power to review previous decisions on grounds of injustice and abuse of process. 

The Federal Court will only consider reviewing a case if it is satisfied that the applicant has suffered a serious miscarriage of justice. 

This could be why Najib has decided not to applying for a judicial review.

According to associate law professor Abdul Rani Kamaruddin at the International Islamic University Malaysia, the next course of action for Najib is to apply for a royal pardon, which is exactly what he did. 

Article 48(1)(e) of the constitution stipulates that any MP who is convicted of an offence and sentenced to prison for not less than a year will lose his parliament membership.

Despite this, Najib’s MP position remains intact because the petition for a pardon was made within 14 days after the apex court had dismissed his appeal. But how long will he be an MP? 

He will remain an MP behind bars until the disposal of his petition for a pardon, under article 48(c) of the Federal Constitution.

According to Rani, the case of a pardon is different from an appeal or judicial review in that the disqualification as an MP is immediate upon the petition being disposed of, whereas in the case of an appeal or judicial review, the disqualification takes place 14 days after the appeal or judicial review is disposed of.  

An MP found guilty and sentenced must apply for a judicial review within 14 days after the Federal Court has dismissed his appeal, if he is to retain his status as a MP. Similarly a petition of pardon must be made within 14 days after the judicial review application has failed.

What this means is, Najib will remain an MP as long as the pardon process takes to complete, or until parliament is dissolved.

Can Najib stand for election while in jail? 

He cannot because article 48(5) of the Federal Constitution states that a conviction is enough to disqualify an MP “for the purpose of nomination, election or appointment of any person to either House of Parliament”.

However, he will qualify to stand for election if he is pardoned. – September 6, 2022.

* Jamari Mohtar reads The Malaysian Insight.