TODAY/CNA-Feb 2
Malaysia’s Pardons Board has announced that former prime minister Najib Razak’s jail sentence for corruption has been reduced from 12 to six years. The official announcement on Friday (Feb 2) comes after the Pardons Board met on Jan 29. CNA was the first to break the news on Jan 31, citing sources including senior government officials, that Najib would have his jail term halved and fine reduced under a partial royal pardon. Najib, 70, has served less than two years of his prison term for his role in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case. With the reduction in the jail term, Najib has agreed that he will be released on Aug 23, 2028, the statement said. The Pardons Board also reduced his RM210 million (S$60 million) fine to RM50 million. But if the fine is not paid, one year will be added to Najib’s prison sentence and he will be released on Aug 23, 2029, the Board added. Speculation about a potential pardon went into overdrive after Dr Zaliha Mustafa, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories), confirmed on Tuesday that the board had met on Monday. The meeting was one of Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin’s last official tasks before he stepped down as Malaysia’s king on Jan 31 and handed the role to Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar under the country’s unique rotation system for its nine royal state households.
Najib was Malaysia’s prime minister for nine years until May 2018 and its first PM to be imprisoned. Read more at: https://www.todayonline.com/world/malaysias-pardons-board-announces-decision-cut-najibs-jail-term-12-6-years-2355161?cid=internal_mcdrecs_06022024_tdy#mdcrecs_s
