The leader of Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang), Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, stated that if Datuk Seri Najib Razak is given a royal pardon, the people will be unhappy.
"People with influence have the ability to free Najib. It is up to him and not me to decide whether or not that individual wants to free Najib.
"But the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob) can first ask the King to pardon Najib. Yang Di-Pertuan Agong has the final say.
After attending today's Jelajah Sayang Bangsa in Station 18, Pasir Puteh, he spoke to reporters and said, "When we ask people what if Najib releases after stealing billions of ringgit, lying, of course, such an action will only disappoint the rakyat."
Dr. Mahathir, whose historic election victory in 2018 was the catalyst for Najib's collapse, warned that the multi-billion dollar corruption scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) would result in justice being denied if multiple cases related to the scam were delayed.
An inquiry for reaction to Mahathir's statement was not immediately answered by the palace of King Al-Sultan Abdullah, which a day earlier had received a petition for forgiveness from Najib supporters.
Najib is thought to be friendly with several Malaysian royals; in May, social media photos showed him celebrating Eid with the monarch.
However, the palace's response to any pardon request from Najib, who presided over the country for nine years until 2018, has yet to be made clear.
A pardon for his former party leader has also not yet been indicated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is working to improve the standing of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno).
Najib was back in court on Thursday for a hearing in the largest case after being sentenced to jail on Tuesday after losing his final appeal in one of the minor cases involving the theft of funds from the state fund he co-founded in 2009.
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