Malaysia delays decision on jailed ex-PM Najib's clemency request

Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim has postponed a decision on a new clemency request from former prime minister Najib Razak, who is serving prison sentences over corruption and money laundering linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, Reuters reports.

Sultan Ibrahim chaired a Pardons Board meeting on September 11, at which 65 inmates were pardoned, but ordered that consideration of Najib's request be deferred until the board's next meeting, Malaysia's legal affairs division said in a statement.

The king has constitutional powers to grant pardons, although the role is largely ceremonial.

The request is Najib's second appeal for clemency since he was jailed in 2022 after Malaysia's top court upheld his conviction for corruption linked to 1MDB, a state fund he co-founded during his nine years in office. Najib has denied the allegations and said he was made a scapegoat for the embezzlement.

In 2024, the Pardons Board halved Najib's original 12-year prison sentence and reduced his fine. Najib has also argued that the decision allowed him to serve his sentence under house arrest, but a legal challenge seeking to secure such an arrangement was unsuccessful.

Late last year, Najib was sentenced to a further 15 years in prison and fined $2.8 billion for abuse of power and money laundering in a separate 1MDB case. He has appealed against that conviction.

The decision to delay consideration of his latest clemency request comes amid political tensions within Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's multi-party government. Najib, 73, remains influential in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which leads the Barisan Nasional coalition in Anwar's administration.

UMNO criticised Anwar's Pakatan Harapan alliance this week after it said people convicted of corruption or abuse of power should serve their full sentences, without directly referring to Najib.

By Aghakazim Guliyev