The Agong is busy with his farewell events. Unless the dwindling rumour of a new PM in Hishamuddin happened on any day as the tenure of Tunku Abdullah as Agong draws to a close, nothing unexpected will likely to happen.
The new Agong will come in end of the month. Getting louder is the conversation on Najib's pardon but that is nothing new. Before the 15th general election, there was even the frivolous claim that there was a pre-planned pact between UMNO and PKR to form a coalition in which the pardon of Najib is part of the deal.
Equally frivolous were the claim Anwar and Zahid pulled the brakes for fear his release will end in them being toppled. However, the fanatics actually believed that Najib would be out to celebrate Hari Raya with his family last year. They grew more impatient on Najib's first anniversary in prison.
There is the expectation now that the present Agong would pardon Najib to avoid the embarassment that his successor cum brother-in-law cum next Agong, Tuanku Ibrahim the Sultan of Johor will be the one to pardon Najib instead.
Disillusioned
Hopes of royal pardon at fever pitch
The Star Saturday, 20 Jan 2024
Speculation that Najib will walk free by the end of the month has intensified even as the window is closing for the King to wield his absolute prerogative.
THERE has been a frenzied mood among the hardcore supporters of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Speculation of a royal pardon has been rife the last couple of weeks and they are convinced the former premier will be a free man by the end of the month.
Some actually believed it would happen yesterday because Friday is always special for Muslims and there was a bigger than usual crowd to greet Datuk Seri Najib Razak at the High Court when he arrived for his ongoing money laundering case connected to the SRC International Sdn Bhd.
But Friday came and went and they are still waiting and disappointed.
Where is this feverish hope of a royal pardon coming from? Apparently, a lot of it has to do with the palace or rather the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah whose reign ends on Jan 31.
Expectations are high because the King is also the Sultan of Pahang and he and Najib go back a long way.
All eyes were on the King and Queen when they attended the wedding of Najib’s youngest son Mohd Norashman to an Indonesian beauty. It was seen as a bond between the Pahang palace and the Najib clan.
The King had also acknowledged and thanked Najib for his foresight in kickstarting the Pan Borneo Highway. During his visit to TRX or the Tun Razak Exchange, those around him heard him refer to it as “the effort of Najib”.
The King will return to the warmest of welcome from his subjects in Pahang. Imagine if he is to “balik kampung” after giving Najib the gift of a lifetime rather than to let it happen under the reign of a Sultan from another state.
There is a great deal of empathy for Najib in Umno. The average Umno person has not kept up with the blow-by-blow accounts of his corruption cases and they see him as a victim of selective prosecution.
Ingrained in their minds was the dramatic way the final leg of his appeal in the Federal Court last year was rushed through and which saw both Najib and his lawyers mortified and humiliated.
The judges probably acted as they saw fit but it was a disaster in terms of optics. When Najib was sent to prison for 12 years, there were reports of Wanita Umno members crying at meetings and party members bemoaning that Bossku was denied a fair trial.
Granting a pardon, said a Cabinet minister who asked not to be named, is His Majesty’s absolute prerogative.
“The King can decide as he sees fit. It has to do with the element of mercy and the law of mercy is very wide,” said the Cabinet minister. He does not have to act on the advice of the executive,” said the minister.
The last high-profile royal pardon was no less than Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. No one, not even Umno leaders, dared let out a squeak when then Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V pardoned Anwar who was serving time for his sodomy conviction.
A highly-placed personality in Putrajaya said he has been made aware that a royal pardon is being “seriously considered” on the part of the palace but no one, he added, knows what to expect.
Surely the palace is aware of sentiments outside of Umno? A pardon would amount to crossing a red line and sending a misguided message on corruption.
The sense among the Bossku group is that there is a veiled effort to ramp up the 1MDB scandal - from international media news reports to the promotion of the Man on the Run movie.
Najib is still referred to as the “disgraced former leader” and “felonious former premier” in the media and a pardon at this stage would affect the country’s image. Besides, Najib has served hardly two years of his current sentence and is still doing battle on other charges.
The Najib dilemma is raised at almost every Umno supreme council meeting but Umno members out there think the party leadership is not pushing hard enough.
Bossku’s persona has grown bigger in spite of being in prison. It is reminiscent of Anwar’s aura when he was going in and out of court.
The powers-that-be in Putrajaya are also unsure what will happen if Najib is freed. He may be a “good boy” for a while but what if he becomes a gathering point for those who are unhappy with the way Umno is heading?
What if those who want Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi out of the picture start to rally behind Najib to propel someone more suitable to lead Umno?
Ahmad Zahid held the party together during its darkest days but has failed to take the party forward in regaining Malay support. Young Malays have shunned Umno and some are calling for Khairy Jamaluddin, whose sacking is deemed a loss to Umno, to be reinstated.
There is also the question of how the Prime Minister himself feels about the matter. Both Anwar and Najib have a natural ability to draw crowds and the circle around Anwar would not want Najib to steal the limelight.
Most of all, there is the concern that Bossku could change the power dynamics and a new alliance that is less keen on sticking with Pakatan Harapan may form around him.
So much is resting on the shoulders of the King because it is all in his hands. The window is closing with only about a dozen more days to go before the throne changes hands.
“I don’t even dare to think one way or another,” said a former aide of Najib.
The cynics think the timing is not right and a pardon is unlikely to happen. Pakatan supporters are obviously dead against it.
But the fervent supporters of Bossku have not given up hope.
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Unrealistic
Joceline described the political aspect and sentiment within UMNO rather well, but a court decision and also a pardon is beyond politics and expectation of supporters and diehards.
There are fanatics taking the view that if Anwar wanted to help, he would have helped. Rationalising that what use is power if he cannot use it to free Najib. If that is the line taken, such manner to pardon Najib by abusing power in the same manner as Mahathir should be opposed.
The issue of Justice Nazlan, the Federal Court rounding-up the bandwagon to defend a conflicted fellow brother and widespread conflict of interest by presiding and retired judges should be something for Anwar to pursue as part of his institutional reform. However, it may not be the single deciding factor to pardon Najib.
So do the manner Tengku Maimon rush ahead without giving Najib the time of day in Federal Court to decide based on technicalities.
The narrative has to be legally and politically correct.
On-going trials
Najib is still facing criminal trials for the 1MDB-Tanore case, IPIC case and money laundering of SRC or dubbed as SRC 2.0 case. He also has an on-going issues with IRB.
It will put the court and Agong in a bad light should he be convicted again after being pardon. At stake is the integrity of the Pardon Board and Agong together with the Prime Minister. Anwar fought for 25 years on his reformasi slogan, thus he cannot make a wrong decision and risk ruining his reputation on a major case.
More so, the public still have reservation and communication team of government failed to explain Zahid's DNAA decision well.
Despite being told by AGC insiders that Zahid was a lost cause, the prosecutor in court Raja Rodzela failed to establish money in Yayasan Akal Budi was from illegal activities.
Then there is the unprofessional behaviour of the prosecutor in both the Akal Budi and UKSB cases. Both the cases were politically motivated and inadequately investigated. A reliable source claimed it was put together in a hurry upon Zahid's refusal to dissolve UMNO.
It was strange for the judge to rule for prima facie.
Positive
Nevertheless, Najib is not a total loss because he was acquited in the Audit case. The DPP seemed unable to proceed on the IPIC case and a DNA is expected to be due.
SRC 2.0 case will also not happen with the "real" IO, DPP, judge, judgement writer and case designer having passed on. There is a strong suspicion the case was never investigated in the first place.
There was no plan to pardon Najib last Friday because it was DNAA for SRC 2.0 expected but the decision was postphoned.
From the development on the 1MDB-Tanore case, Najib should be acquited. Key witnesses from MACC, PDRM and BNM including the former Governor tanked. The whole case rest on Jho Low as witness and he is no where to be found.
Insya Allah he will likely be acquited. Be reminded that Roger Ng is in police lock-up and Jasmine Looi is under police protection. Both have been singing.
With these developments, the civil case by 1MDB look ridiculous to proceed. More so when it is later establised that 1MDB lawyer, Rosli Dahalan, Muhyiddin and others were in collusion to divert the compensation from Goldman Sachs in the billions!
Left is the IRB cases, but there is no charge yet, thus it will depend on negotiation.
Najib's problem is the SRC case. It has exhausted all avenue for appeal and review. Pardon seemed to be his only last hope of getting release but he repeatedly insisted in seeking a retrial.
If SRC 2.0 actually goes to trial, expect Zeti and Nazlan will be called in to testify. Najib already made known he intend to sue former AG, Tommy Thomas. More of the behind the scene cloak and dagger manouvering by Mahathir, Daim, Tommy, Latheefa Koya etc will come to bear.
Ball on Maimoon's leg and she is a member of the Pardon Board together with Anwar.
Gamechanger?
In the meanwhile, Najib supporters should be realistically aware of the constraints and play their part to convince the public that there are justifiable causes for Agong to pardon Najib.
The behaviour of certain group of supporters to demand for Najib return and send petition to the palace was plain immature and shows clear deficient in wisdom. One do not petition and demand on the Agong!
It is indicative of the state of mind of UMNO supporters. They seemed to be lost in nostalgia of their past glory and not measuring their clothing from the available cloth.
They behave as though UMNO is the single ruling party, and holding the PM post allow them to dictate government and court. However, it is not saying UMNO is powerless and without any bargaining position.
The pardon of Najib can be the booster for the Kerajaan Perpaduan to woe back the UMNO and Malay voters, and cripple Bersatu subsequently weakening PAS led by the ailing Hadi and "locked" Tuan Ibrahim.
It serve to put Anwar's reformation and Najib's transformation plans to being. Anwar-Najib-Zahid is a game changing powerful force and a wave ready to be unleashed.
Off course, UMNO has to smartly analyse the situation, cast aside emotions, nostalgia of their past, and strategise and execute wisely. Its a different political landscape and voters demography out there.
When?
So .... Najib was not released in November, the seldom mentioned month to seekers of answer. It was merely a ploy to end any conversation on his release.
It didn't happen before December 14. Will it be before Tuanku Abdullah reign end or under the reign of Tuanku Ibrahim? Or after Hari Raya?
Possibly, he could have his sentence lightened and serve few more years before getting pardon. Or the pardon is already signed.
Anything is possible. The verse 173 from surah Ali Imran of the glorious Al Quran is befitting: “For us Allah sufficeth, and He is the best disposer of affairs.” Always for the bigger and greater good.
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