The conditional pardon granted to Datuk Seri Najib Razak by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim is likely to put Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in a politically complicated position.
The Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department said that the conditional pardon allows the former prime minister to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until August 23, 2028.
However, the arrangement is subject to Najib paying a RM50 million fine and complying with the conditions imposed.
Should he breach any of those conditions, the conditional pardon would be revoked and he would immediately return to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.
PH Caught in a Political Bind?
The development could prove politically difficult for PH, particularly after PKR had previously stated that individuals convicted of high-profile corruption or abuse of power should not be granted pardons.
Political analyst Dr Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Sabri said the decision places PH in a difficult position, as the coalition will now have to explain the development to supporters who have long associated the coalition with reform, good governance, accountability and the fight against corruption.
He noted that PH could argue that the decision falls within the constitutional powers of the Pardons Board and was not a political decision made by the government. From an institutional perspective, such authority has to be respected.
However, Zaharuddin said the political implications cannot be separated from the institutional process, as public perception will inevitably shape how the decision is understood and interpreted.
He added that the development could prompt questions over the message conveyed by the decision, with PH and Anwar potentially becoming the focus of public scrutiny simply because they are currently leading the government.
Former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli, for example, has called on Anwar and senior PH leaders to explain the conditional pardon granted to Najib.
Rafizi said it was the responsibility of the prime minister and PH leaders to provide a full explanation to the public, rather than simply arguing that the matter was beyond their control.
UMNO's response
Meanwhile, UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed gratitude over the decision allowing Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
He also called on UMNO members to welcome the development with gratitude, maintain decorum in their public statements and respect the processes and conditions that have been imposed.
Zahid, who is also deputy prime minister, said the party would initiate a fundraising effort to help Najib settle the RM50 million fine.
However, Zaharuddin cautioned that the conditional pardon should not automatically be viewed as an unqualified political gain for UMNO.
Najib cannot simply be treated as an asset to the party, he said, because his return to the political spotlight also brings the 1MDB issue back into the conversation.
According to Zaharuddin, Najib's continued presence as a political figure provides UMNO's opponents with an opportunity to revive issues surrounding 1MDB, the SRC International case and questions over integrity that played a significant role in the country's political shift in 2018.
This means that whenever Najib becomes a political issue, the 1MDB controversy is likely to resurface alongside him. Any attempt by UMNO to portray him primarily as a symbol of party loyalty could therefore give its political opponents further room to revisit the controversies surrounding his administration and the corruption cases linked to his tenure.
Zaharuddin said that while Najib's conditional pardon could energise UMNO's grassroots machinery, it could also reopen political wounds that have yet to fully heal.
At the same time, he argued that PH should not regard the development as a straightforward political liability that can simply be exploited against UMNO.
If PH takes an overly confrontational position towards the decision, it could face questions over why, while in government, it was unable to provide its reform-minded supporters with a convincing explanation of where the coalition's principles stand on the matter.
Conversely, remaining too silent could create another political problem, as its own supporters may begin questioning whether the reform agenda that helped define PH's political identity has been compromised.
The conditional pardon therefore creates a difficult political balancing act for both sides: for UMNO, Najib's return to the political conversation could revive unresolved controversies surrounding 1MDB and his conviction; for PH, the same development raises questions about how the coalition reconciles its reformist political identity with a decision made through the country's constitutional pardons process.
Azzman Mantoya (azzman.tvpertiwi@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
