Tag Archives: Najib

Time for PN MPs to get serious

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The Pardons Board’s decisions to commute former prime minister Najib Razak’s jail term from 12 years to six and his fine from RM210 million to RM50 million must be debated in the Dewan Rakyat.

While the people are glad that Najib didn’t get a pardon, Opposition MPs must question Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for the reason or reasons for bringing this case before the Pardons Board when Najib had completed only a year of his jail term. Shouldn’t the government have waited for a few more years or followed the convention of letting the felon serve at least one third of his/her jail term before applying for a pardon?

Conventions are useful to facilitate the smooth execution of justice when the law doesn’t spell it out. Why was it abandoned in this case?

A one-year fulfilment of a jail term may be too soon for a review for a pardon but a few years of serving a jail term would satisfy the need for retribution before consideration for a pardon. Such conventions should be followed and entrenched and not dismissed for the sake of political expediency unless for exceptional urgent national interests which the Najib case isn’t!

For the billions of Malaysian ringgit that Najib was supposed to be involved in, a RM210 million fine is a paltry sum. What was the point of making it easier for him to pay his fine by reducing it by nearly 75% when the Anwar government is on a witch-hunt to target very rich businessmen/women in order — it is alleged — to return “the billions they stole from the government”?

The motive behind the board’s move isn’t clear and in the absence of clarity appears unnecessary. There’s no pardon and Najib will only be released in 2028, so what was the purpose of the board’s decision now. What prompted it?

The people have a right to know why Najib’s application for a pardon was forwarded now and the only people who can expose this seeming farce are the MPs, particularly Perikatan Nasional (PN) MPs.

Not only must PN MPs raise this issue in the Dewan Rakyat, but they must raise all other issues to expose the unity government’s motives and especially to ascertain if these motives are aimed at upholding the federal constitution or compromising it.

Right now PN MPs stick to bread and butter issues in Parliament. They must now advance to constitutional issues to ensure that the government is adhering to the democratic principles on which our parliamentary system of government is formed.

This is the only way the people will know whether Anwar’s unity government is legitimate or not or corruption-free. And it will be through this way that PN will gain more support from the people.

Whether it involves the MACC, the Pardons Board, the Attorney-General or constitutional monarchy, PN MPs must lead the debates to expose the government’s hidden or private agendas.

PN MPs can no longer sit back passively and wait for the chance to speak up or act. They are fully aware what the unity government is up to and they can’t be silent anymore. They must reveal what this government is not saying or doing.

When they raise these issues in the Dewan Rakyat and generate enough discussion on them, it may encourage the disgruntled government MPs to do the same to show their supporters that they are on the side of the people.

This can only work to PN’s advantage. It is time for PN to stop sitting around and waiting for things to happen and, instead, go on the offensive. This unity government provides sufficient ammunition to backfire on them.

A tough decision for Sabri

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Former prime minister Najib Razak’s conviction by the High Court for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering was upheld by the Federal Court and he is now in jail beginning his 12-year sentence. He has been proven to be guilty. So, it is mind-boggling that his supporters are demanding a royal pardon!

He hasn’t even served one week in jail and his supporters are already clamouring for a royal pardon. Blinded by loyalty, they can’t see that if their request was granted, it would put the royal institution in a bad light — as one which does not respect the judgement of the courts. I like to think that the king with good counsel at his disposal will not play into the hands of Najib’s supporters.

It is unbelievable that Najib’s supporters want a royal pardon — as unbelievable as former prime minister and Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin accepting to be installed as prime minister when he knew he could not prove a majority.

This is what happens when power is put in the hands of Umno and former members who abuse the power of their positions. They use power for their own ends even if it goes against the rule of law. We have seen it in the way Najib ran the country and he is in jail now for it! We saw it in the way Muhyiddin governed by installing a huge bloated Cabinet and luring MPs to join it with all sorts of enticements although he got away with it. And, we are now seeing it as Najib’s supporters demand a royal pardon for him.

The fear is he will get away with it too if his supporters have their way! Although Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is a vice-president in Umno, in this case, he should not be swayed by party politics. He should think of restoring the good name of the nation already marred by the 1MDB scandal and act according to the rule of law and ensure that Najib, too, doesn’t get away with it!

Najib must first serve a portion of his sentence and complete all his court cases before he is considered for a royal pardon. If Sabri caves in to the demands of Najib’s supporters, he will be proving what all of Malaysia except his supporters knows — that Umno will use its privileged position for personal gain rather than national gain.

Hopefully, Sabri will make the right decision though it may be a difficult decision. It may cost him his premiership but it would make him look good in history for not letting a crook off the hook!

Debate and anti-hopping bill favour Najib

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It is very likely — if the events subsequent to the famous Sheraton moves are anything to go by — that the scheduled debate between former prime minister and now Umno adviser Najib Razak and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and vice-president Rafizi Ramli will turn to Najib’s advantage.

Rafizi threw Najib a dare to debate the financially-troubled Sapura Energy Berhad after the latter suggested a government bailout of the company. Najib took up the dare on the condition that the debate was with Anwar with Rafizi alongside.

In doing so, Najib framed the debate as one between equals, a former prime minister and the current Opposition leader. It lends credibility to his position as a force of influence and diminishes his conviction for criminal charges in the eyes of his supporters which, precisely, is his objective.

In addition, he is turning the debate into a major public relations exercise as he wants to live stream the debate. Najib sees the debate as a chance to “rock it!” Live-streamed and rocking it as he engages with an equal, his credibility enhances in the eyes of his voter base. His voters will see him as having an intelligent discussion with opposition politicians and will be impressed, seeing him as a capable leader holding his own.

Even if he loses the debate in that Anwar and Rafizi may succeed in rebutting him, he will still come out smelling like a rose because he framed the debate as one between friends on opposing sides of an issue who are simply “rocking it”! So, in gentlemanly fashion, he would graciously accept defeat, offering a handshake to the winners as they are still friends. His target voter base will be warmed to know the debate between the Malay leaders was so amicable even if Najib lost. Another of Najib’s public relations exercises which will bring about the desired payoff. More votes for his side — Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN)!

But, what will PKR get?

PKR is probably hoping that their attempt at an expose will undermine Najib’s appeal. Will it work against his PR campaigns? So far it hasn’t. PKR was thrashed in all the recent elections in Malacca, Sarawak and Johor while Najib successfully worked the crowds and won without discussing issues and simply humbly smiling a lot and identifying with the base.

(Of course, there’s that other issue of alleged cash incentives that follow his campaign trail. That’s just the icing on the cake. They come together, the voters know!)

Can PKR match it? Or will the issues Anwar and Rafizi raise fall like water off a duck’s back?

If PKR is hoping to lure the fence-sitters, Anwar and Rafizi, perhaps have not fully understood that the fence-sitters don’t need convincing. They are already convinced about who Najib is and voted for Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the 2018 general elections to get rid of him only to be disappointed by PH by the subsequent decisions it made which have brought him back to a position of influence.

So, engaging Najib in any form whether through a debate or a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with his party is just playing into his hands. He benefits at the expense of the other side.

Besides, the Sapura Energy issue is of national importance as it involves taxpayers’ money and should be discussed in the Dewan Rakyat which will expose the issue to a wider national audience.

With regard to the MoU, is it also another chance to play into Najib’s hands? Apparently, Bersatu is not keen on passing the anti-hopping bill — a condition of the MoU — which means the government is not confident the bill will be passed with a two-thirds majority, which is the requirement for the bill to be passed.

PH parties want the bill passed and have declared they will support it. Other opposition parties have not made their stand.

In the current political scenario, which party stands to gain the most from passing the anti-hopping bill? Umno, because if some of their MPs leave to join other parties, Umno will be unable to form a majority government. So, it serves Umno’s purpose for the anti-hopping bill to be passed.

The Umno-led government has deferred the introduction of the bill to a special Dewan Rakyat sitting next Monday but as of yesterday it was announced that the bill will not be introduced but an amendment to the federal constitution will be introduced instead which must be passed with a two-thirds majority to “facilitate” the future passing of the bill.

If the bill can’t be passed now with a two-thirds majority, what needs to “facilitate” the passing of the bill in the future? It can only mean one thing: The introduction of the amendment to the federal constitution is meant to allow for the passing of the anti-hopping bill later with a simple majority and not a two-thirds majority.

That may be possible even if Bersatu MPs oppose the bill. If that’s the case, MPs must be allowed to vote according to their conscience. If the anti-hopping bill can not get a two-thirds majority of support from the MPs, it should be shelved. This bill is too significant to be passed with only half the house supporting it.

It was reported that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will be holding a meeting on Sunday to inform the MPs what the amendment to the federal constitution will entail. Whatever that is, MPs must be allowed to vote according to their conscience.

It is unethical to twist the constitution to pass an amendment with the help of an MoU in order for the easy passing of an important bill that will affect every constituent in the country just so that a bill is passed with a simple majority to protect political parties — particularly Umno in the current political scenario — and bring back a leader and his cohorts to power aided and abetted by opposition parties.

Umno stands to gain but PH may see losing more ground.

That is playing into Najib’s sleight of hand!