JAILED former prime minister Najib Razak will remain the lawmaker for Pekan until the completion of his pardon process and review at the Federal Court, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun said. 

He said that for now, Najib’s status as MP had not changed.  

“Taking into account the application for pardon done before this, and the review filed, Najib’s status as the Pekan MP remains unchanged and will only be finalised when both the processes are completed,” he said in a statement today. 

On Monday, Azhar said that Najib had applied to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah for a pardon.  

“Since there is a pending pardon application, the Pekan seat will not be vacated until the king decides either to accept or reject it,” he said.  

Najib has been in Kajang Prison since August 23, after the Federal Court upheld his 12-year prison sentence for misappropriating SRC International funds. He has further 1MDB-related cases pending. 

According to Azhar, Najib filed for the royal pardon application on Friday, which is within the statutory 14-day period after the Federal Court ruling. 

It was reported that a petition for a pardon had been distributed in his Pekan constituency, where Umno deputy division chief Zamri Ramly said he hoped that at least 100,000 residents would sign. 

In an interview with news portal Malaysiakini, former attorney-general Tommy Thomas said a pardon for Najib was not legally possible at this time because he had four more cases undergoing the judicial process. 

“If you are a convict, and you apply, you cannot have other criminal cases,” Thomas said to the news portal. 

“In Najib’s case, he has four other pending cases, two of which are advanced. The audit trial is nearly complete, while the prosecution’s case in the (1Malaysia Development Berhad) Tanore trial has crossed the halfway line. 

“The other two have not started,” he said, referring to a RM27 million money laundering case, again involving SRC International, plus one more for criminal breach of trust relating to RM6.6 million disappearing from International Petroleum Investment Co accounts. 

“In all these cases, the prosecution has a very strong case. I expect the defence to be called. I expect Najib to be convicted. 

“Therefore, you cannot be entertaining a pardon for offence number one when you have the other four pending,” the former A-G said. – September 8, 2022.