Bersih Not Ruling Out Protest Over Najib S Sentence Reduction

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Bersih has not ruled out the possibility of holding a street protest against the reduction of former premier Najib Abdul Razak’s prison sentence.
The electoral watchdog’s chairperson Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz said the matter was discussed in a meeting yesterday.
“We are heading in that direction but we need to build up the momentum first,” he told Malaysiakini.
Bersih will be holding a press conference on the matter tomorrow along with other civil society organisations, as well as student and youth groups.
Last Friday, the Pardons Board announced its decision to halve Najib’s jail time from 12 years to six.
It also reduced the fine on the former premier from RM210 million to RM50 million.
Najib was locked up in Kajang Prison after being convicted in the RM42 million SRC International corruption case.
The 12-year sentence and conviction were meted out by the High Court and upheld by the Court of Appeal and Federal Court.
Judiciary’s image affected
Bersih recently slammed the Pardons Board’s decision, saying it would affect the rakyat’s perception of the judiciary.
The fact that the Federal Court upheld Najib’s SRC International conviction, his 12-year jail term, and RM210 million fine showed that Najib had indeed “stolen” the country’s money, the group's steering committee said in a statement.
After Najib’s conviction, former leaders of Bersih 2.0 thanked Malaysians who took to the streets in the watchdog’s rallies to protest despite the various threats and challenges lobbed against them by the then government.
They attributed the conviction and sentencing of Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor to the struggle against graft by Malaysians who took to the streets in Bersih rallies.
Najib had been convicted on seven charges brought against him for abuse of power, money laundering, and criminal breach of trust over SRC International funds amounting to RM42 million.
Rosmah, meanwhile, was sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined a record RM970 million after being found guilty of corruption in connection with the RM1.25 billion Sarawak rural schools’ solar energy project.
The court, however, granted a stay on her jail sentence pending her appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Najib is on trial for other cases including four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.27 billion from 1MDB. - Mkini

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