Kota Kinabalu: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad reportedly said on Thursday that imprisoned former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is likely to receive a royal pardon and be released from a 12-year jail sentence for graft that he began this week.
Mahathir said delays in various trials related to the multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) would result in justice being denied, Reuters reported.
Najib was first convicted in 2020 but he appealed to higher courts. On Tuesday, the country’s top court rejected his final appeal and upheld his 12-year jail sentence and a RM210 million fine for illegally receiving US$10 million (RM44.8 million) from a unit of 1MDB.
“For Najib, it is highly likely that he will be pardoned after being imprisoned,” the 97-year-old said in a statement.
He did not elaborate.
The Agong's palace, which received a petition for a pardon from Najib loyalists a day earlier, did not immediately respond to Reuters's request for comment on Mahathir’s remark.
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