No Mercy For Najib Groups Say In Marking Grand Discount Day

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To commemorate the one-year “anniversary” of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak receiving a “grand discount” over his sentencing, four reform-based NGOs said Malaysians who hate corruption have one message – the man does not deserve mercy.
“Najib does not deserve mercy, including home detention and today marks the 1st anniversary of Najib’s ‘grand discount day’,” said the groups in a joint statement.
The four NGOs are Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama), Bersih, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas Malaysia) and Himpunan Advokasi Rakyat Malaysia (HARAM).
The groups also listed 48 organisational endorsers and over 800 individuals.
The “grand discount day” refers to when the Pardons Board decided to slash Najib’s prison sentence in the SRC international case from 12 years to six years and reduced his fine from RM 210 million to RM50 million.
Earlier today, Malaysian Corruption Watch (MCW) said Najib deserves an opportunity to redeem himself.
In urging all parties to afford respect for due process in relation to the commutation of the former PM’s sentence, MCW president Jais Abdul Karim said Najib should be given a chance at redemption and rehabilitation just as everyone else.
"While we strongly uphold the fight against corruption, we must also honour and respect the decisions made by the monarchy, as enshrined in our Constitution," he was reported as saying.
Remember ongoing cases?
However, the four NGOs have different views. For starters, they pointed out that Najib still has other ongoing trials, including for criminal breach of trust and abuse of power.
“Najib has never admitted guilt in any of these cases. Instead, he has repeatedly claimed he is a victim of political persecution; and he demands pardon and leniency in the punishment lawfully meted out to him in the SRC International case while the three other cases are pending.
“Before all of Najib's pending cases are concluded and, upon conviction, he admits guilt and seeks forgiveness, any decision to pardon him or substitute his prison time with home detention amounts to condoning and normalising corruption,” they argued.
ADSThey also said such measures would only serve to promote and tolerate double standards within the society, where those well-connected get lesser punishment.
Additionally, the groups pointed to the role of Parliament and legislatures as the only law-making bodies in Malaysia, and so any law on home detention must be transparently enacted in Parliament, not by any other avenue or document.
PM must help AG
Apart from the cases still being heard in court, the groups urged Attorney-General Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar to instruct his team to re-file new charges related to the RM 6.6 billion International Petroleum Investment Company case against Najib in a timely manner.
“Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim must assist the prosecution in the access to the necessary documents.
“Najib was given a discharge not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Nov 27, 2024, because the prosecution had failed to produce documents under S51A of the Criminal Procedure Code,” the groups said.
They noted that the prosecution had said the documents were classified under the Official Secrets Act by the Finance Ministry.
“Anwar, who also serves as finance minister, has the power to declassify the documents.
“If Najib escapes any accountability due to the failure on the part of the prosecution, Anwar, who constitutionally controls the appointment and tenure of the AG, must bear full responsibility,” the groups added. - Mkini

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