Umno hoping royal pardon meeting will bring good news for Najib

PONTIAN - Umno hopes the Royal Pardon Board members meeting on April 28 will bring good news to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence.

Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said the council in a meeting yesterday had decided to appeal for a pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.

He said the decision received support from the majority of Umno members including at the division, Wanita, Youth and Puteri wings level.

"The Supreme Council members will send a letter to seek an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, led by Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who will express the desire of not only the Supreme Council, but Umno as a whole including Youth, Puteri and Wanita to request for royal pardon," he said.

He said this after attending a bubur lambuk cooking programme at Kawasan Rukun Tetangga (KRT) Ayer Baloi, here, today.

Yesterday, Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the Umno Supreme Council had made a decision to appeal for Najib's royal pardon from Al-Sultan Abdullah.

He said the unanimoous decision was made at the council's monthly meeting to request the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's courtesy to consider a full pardon for Najib as provisioned in Article 42 (1) of the Federal Constitution.

Asyraf added that the Umno Supreme Council took note of the grassroot members' grief and anxiety over the Federal Court's decision to reject Najib's appeal to review the conviction and prison sentence in relation to SRC case.

On March 31, Najib was rejected from reviewing the Federal Court's previous decision which upheld the conviction, sentence and fine against him over the misappropriation of funds belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Asyraf said the anxiety was based on a decision that was seen as unfair in line with the judgement statement issued by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli, who chaired the five-member panel of Federal Court Judges.

The four-judge panel, with a majority 4-1, had rejected Najib's appeal for lack of merit.